Chris Hughes speaks out on split from Little Mix's Jesy Nelson for the first time
They broke up at the beginning of lockdown
Love Island's Chris Hughes has spoken out about his split from Little Mix's Jesy Nelson after they parted ways earlier this year. The pair, who were together for 14 months, shocked fans when they split in April 2020 at the beginning of lockdown - although neither confirmed it at the time.
Now, Chris has spoken out about the split for the first time in an interview with Vicky Pattison on her podcast, The Secret To, saying that being in lockdown was actually quite a good thing.
He said, "You can actually focus on yourself, which is always a good thing. For me as well, I had a break up! So I needed a bit of focusing on my own stuff. It happened right at the start."
As Vicky said that she couldn't believe the pair had split, Chris admitted, "It was tough. Time’s a healer, you don’t believe it when you’re in the moment. I don’t think I’ve ever felt heartbroken or anything. And then a couple of weeks down the line, you start thinking about it less and less. And the next thing, you’re good as gold."
The 27-year-old added that opening up about his feelings to his manager had been a huge help for him, "It’s good to talk to people like that, you’re the same as well, life experience. People get it and it reflects on you and next minute you feel right as rain."
Scroll through to see Jesy Nelson and Chris Hughes' relationship timeline:
January 2019
In January 2019, Jesy was papped giving Love Island 2017 star Chris Hughes a cheeky little snog... In a KEBAB shop! From that moment, rumours that the pair were dating were rife.
March 2019
After weeks of rumours that Jesy and Chris were dating, the pair confirmed their romance during a trip to Ireland, posting this cosy snap to their socials.
Although the pair briefly split after just three weeks of dating, they quickly rekindled their romance.
March 2019
Since that moment, Jesy and Chris haven't been shy in expressing their love for each other, with Chris calling Jesy his 'girlfriend' during a radio interview in March 2019.
Chris gushed over his new love, saying, "I'm the happiest I've ever been. It's official, she's my girlfriend. I'm so happy, she's the nicest girl I've ever met, this is no exaggeration, she's got a heart like she was your mother or something. She's so caring. We just get on like best mates, and that's the beauty about it."
April 2019
Showing he's the best supportive boyfriend, Chris started to join Jesy at some of her Little Mix interviews, as well as posting cute snaps on social media.
May 2019
With their relationship going well, Jesy and Chris enjoyed their first Summer together, with the pair going on romantic bike rides and enjoying each other's company.
June 2019
In June, Chris and Jesy went on their first overseas holiday, with Chris writing on Instagram, 'Off on holiday, with my best friend 🖤✈️ Miss JH'.
June 2019
Later in the month, Chris showed his love to Jesy by paying tribute to her on her birthday. Sharing a cute photo on social media, Chris wrote, 'Happy birthday to a best friend, my better half and the most caring person I could have wished to meet,' he wrote, along with a gallery of four photos of them together. 'Every day is better now. The fact I love you when I'm hungry says it all. The core to my 🍏... have the best day and keep on shining, you deserve the world 🌍🖤 x' sic
August 2019
After nine months of dating, Jesy sparked engagement rumours by calling Chris her 'future husband'. Sharing a video of Chris playing up to the camera, Jesy captioned the video, 'My future husband'.
August 2019
Later that month, Jesy and Chris enjoyed their second holiday together, this time taking a trip to Bali! The pair delighted fans with loved-up posts throughout the trip, with many calling them 'goals'.
September 2019
When Jesy's BBC documentary 'Odd One Out' aired, fans of the singer were left with melted hearts after seeing how sweet Chris is towards his girlfriend. Chris revealed on the show that he has a make-up free photo of Jesy on his fridge, which he often goes to look at without her knowing.
October 2019
Chris attended the Pride of Britain awards in October, where he gushed about his girl.
When we asked what his proudest moment of the year was, he sweetly replied that it was when he asked Jesy to be his girlfriend! Aww! "That was a nice moment. She's just wonderful, we're best friends - we spend so much time together."
October 2019
Chris later joined Jesy and the rest of the Little Mix girls on their UK tour, where he even stepped in for Jade when she was sick during rehearsals!
November 2019
Chris broke down in tears during an interview on This Morning, whilst discussing the shocking online abuse Jesy has received in the past.
He said, "She rang me, bless her, about 10 minutes after the documentary aired and she was just so overwhelmed and she just broke down on the phone to me. She's a strong girl now, she's extremely strong."
Visibly upset, Chris then added, "I don't know why, but I get so emotional when I'm speaking about it."
January 2020
On 17th January 2020, Jesy and Chris celebrated their one-year anniversary! The pair shared a number of cute photos with each other, with Chris calling Jesy his 'Queen'.
January 2020
Chris accompanied Jesy to the National Television Awards 2020, where she won the Factual Entertainment Award! Thanking him in her speech, Jesy said, "I want to thank Chris, my boyfriend, for bringing me up every day and making me feel confident." Fans thought she might have been wearing an engagement ring to the ceremony, but she shut those rumours down, saying it was "just accessories".
February 2020
Chris sparked speculation that Jesy could be pregnant in early February, after posting a photo of the pair alongside a baby emoji.
April 2020
As the pair self-isolated at different houses during lockdown for the Coronavirus pandemic, rumours emerged that Jesy and Chris had decided to 'split', with the pair deciding their romance had just 'come to an end'.
Despite the rumours, the couple are yet to confirm or deny the apparent split, so we have our fingers crossed that they can get back on track!
July 2020
Chris spoke out about the split for the first time in an interview in July 2020 with Vicky Pattison on her podcast, The Secret To, saying that being in lockdown was actually quite a good thing. He said, "You can actually focus on yourself, which is always a good thing. For me as well, I had a break up! So I needed a bit of focusing on my own stuff. It happened right at the start."
As Vicky said that she couldn't believe the pair had split, Chris admitted, "It was tough. Time's a healer, you don't believe it when you're in the moment. I don't think I've ever felt heartbroken or anything. And then a couple of weeks down the line, you start thinking about it less and less. And the next thing, you're good as gold."
The 27-year-old added that opening up about his feelings to his manager had been a huge help for him, "It's good to talk to people like that, you're the same as well, life experience. People get it and it reflects on you and next minute you feel right as rain."
Fans were left in total shock at the news Jesy and Chris had split, after he appeared in her documentary, Odd One Out, which detailed the bullying she'd suffered since being on The X Factor and joining Little Mix back in 2011.
Chris appeared in the documentary himself, and accompanied Jesy to the National Television Awards in January where she picked up the Best Factual Entertainment Award for her work.
Although nothing was confirmed at the time, sources close to the stars spoke about their split, and Jesy deleted all trace of Chris from her Instagram profile - which is pretty conclusive 2020-speak for a break-up.
In other Little Mix news, Jesy, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall have announced a virtual concert for the end of August! Entitled 'UNCancelled', the girls will perform at Knebworth House in a gig streamed online to their fans! They're also gearing up to release their sixth album and we cannot wait!
You can hear Little Mix's biggest hits on the West FM playlist. 🎶