Archive November 2, 2025

Perrie Edwards, a former Little Mix star, recalls how her mental health suffered a troubling breakup with Zayn Malik, one of her former One Direction stars.

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Perrie Edwards has revealed the devastating impact of her public break up with One Direction star Zayn Malik, and how it affected her mental health. She spoke about the “dark” time as part of Louis Theroux’s Girlbands Forever documentary, which explores the music industry for British singers over the last 25 years.

Many former girlband members looked back at a time where record companies had no regard for ‘duty of care’, in an era when the stars’ mental health was not taken into account. Members of bands like Sugababes, Little Mix, Eternal, All Saints and Atomic Kitten looked back at how they were treated by their managers in the 90s and early 00s.

Perrie, 32, won X Factor in 2011 alongside the other Little Mix girls – but her swift rise to fame left her in a dark place, particularly as it coincided with the growth of social media. She admitted: “I did start believing I’m not good at this, I’m ugly. People just say well, it’s what you signed up for.

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I wished I could sing for non-trolls, not people. That is something I didn’t want, and I didn’t consent to it. “She was relentlessly trolled by his fans when Perrie started seeing 1D star Zayn Malik. She remarked, “Social media was dark, it used to hurt me a lot.

The pair eventually got engaged, but their relationship ended in 2015 when they split up. Perrie recalled that, “You’re hurting enough, everyone else has a different opinion of you.” You can’t escape it, so you might as well just sing about it because everyone wants to know about your business and feels like they do.

Perrie wrote the song Shout Out To My Ex, Little Mix’s most popular single, about her breakup with Zayn. She recalled that while Little Mix was a pivotal moment, it was difficult to discuss that in public.

“I just hurt, and I had a lot of it in the background. Your mental health is greatly affected by it. Perrie’s mental health was about to suffer as a result when she left for Las Vegas in 2017 to perform with the girls.

She declared, “I didn’t want to go.” I was exhausted. When I attempted to leave the trip, I started having panic attacks when we arrived.

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I ended up in a hospital because I didn’t know what was going on at the time or what anxiety was. I didn’t want to upset the girls, and I didn’t want to let them down. Without me, they had to do it, and I detested and deeply regretted doing it.

Perrie continued, “You can’t really be selfish when you’re in a group dynamic, even though you’re going through stuff individually. I therefore made an effort to make a face-up.

Other claims made by artists in the documentary include allegations of forced abortions, pressure to lose weight at secluded ‘fat loss camps’ and bullying by record companies. Girlbands Forever is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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Actor David Harbour has spoken about finding fame on the Netflix show as he navigates a string of controversy in his personal life.

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Stranger Things star David Harbour is currently embroiled in a series of scandals in the aftermath of the release of his estranged wife Lily Allen’s latest album and her allegations that he was unfaithful during their marriage.

As all eyes are on the star’s personal life, he has been refreshing candid in an interview with the Spanish version of Esquire magazine. In the November edition of the publication, David, 50, explains his relief at finding fame later in life sharing how it’s allowed him to be more respectful of the spotlight. The interviewer asked him, ‘Stranger Things premiered when you were 41. Is it easier not to become a jerk when fame comes a little later in life?’

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David responded, “It certainly is for me. I believe that the traps of youth and fame are so intertwined with one another. Who cares if you know you’re going to die when you’re older? ]Laughs]”.

Instead of trying to preserve it, control it, or hold on to it, he said, “You get to enjoy it more, I think.” You must chase it because you take it so seriously and it defines you.

He continued, “Whereas] it’s just like, Oh, this is a nice little treat. We’ll ride it and see what it has to offer, but we won’t get bogged down in its self-importance craze.

Since the release of his estranged wife’s studio album last month, David has been caught in a media storm following Lily Allen’s allegations of him cheating within their marriage.

The couple wed the following year after their first relationship on the popular dating app Raya.

And while some Lily’s allegations have raised some eyebrows, a report has recently surfaced that claims some of the material on her album had no direct connection to David.

Some of the songs on the album were written four years ago, according to a source who reportedly told the Daily Mail, which was when her relationship with David was flourishing.

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The album’s creators have referred to it as a PR stunt. Lily admitted to using “poetic license” in her own admission when she claimed that her album was “autofiction.”

The insider claimed that Lily had no connection to David and that this was all happening while they were deliriously happy. “Some years ago Lily wrote a really, really honest album about men she had come into contact with who weren’t really nice to her. However, West End Girl was born out of this.

Then, they continued, “There are abundantly clear references to the breakdown of her marriage to actor David, but by no means is it all about him, though Lily has been very happy to allow that narrative to continue and bash David.”

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