Jesy Nelson officially leaves Little Mix

So after much consideration and with a heavy heart, Im announcing Im leaving Little Mix, Nelson said.Describing her nine years with fellow members -- Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock -- as the most incredible time of her life, the singer said they achieved the most impossible things together.

Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has announced she is leaving the music group as being part of the quartet recently took a toll on her mental health. In a lengthy statement shared on Instagram on Monday, the 29-year-old said her decision to leave the band was driven by the ''need to reinvest'' in taking care of herself.

''The truth is recently being in the band has really taken a toll on my mental health. I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard. ''There comes a time in life when we need to reinvest in taking care of ourselves rather than focussing (sic) on making other people happy, and I feel like now is the time to begin that process. So after much consideration and with a heavy heart, I'm announcing I'm leaving Little Mix,'' Nelson said.

Describing her nine years with fellow members -- Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock -- as the ''most incredible time'' of her life, the singer said they achieved the most impossible things together. ''From winning our first Brit Award to our sold out shows at the O2. Making friends and fans all over the world I can't thank you all enough from the bottom of my heart for making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. You have always been there to support and encourage me and I will never ever forget it,'' she said.

Nelson said she needs to spend time with the people she loves and doing things that make her happy. ''I'm ready to embark on a new chapter in my life - I'm not sure what it's going to look like right now, but I hope you'll still be there to support me. ''I want to say thank you to everyone involved in our journey. All the hard work and dedication that went into making us a success,'' she said thanking the group's fans.

Nelson also thanked Thirlwall, Edwards and Pinnock for creating ''some of the most amazing memories I'll never forget''. ''I hope that you'll continue to fulfil (sic) all of your dreams and keep on making music that people love,'' she added. In a joint statement, the remainder of Little Mix members said though they were sad about Nelson exiting the group they were ''fully supportive'' of the singer. ''We love her very much and agree that it is so important that she does what is right for her mental health and well-being. We are still very much enjoying our Little Mix journey and the 3 of us are not ready for it to be over,'' they said.

Nelson recently took ''an extended break'' from Little Mix, citing private medical reasons. She also missed out on the girl group's The Search final and their performance at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The group was formed in 2011 during the eighth series of the British version of ''The X Factor''.