Jesy Nelson’s associate Zion Foster known as her ‘a superwoman’ and stated ‘we’re one’ days earlier than they cut up following twin daughters’ prognosis

Jesy Nelson‘s ex Zion Foster called her ‘the definition of a superwoman’ in a gushing post just four days before it emerged they’d split.

Sources revealed on Sunday that the couple had called off their engagement just weeks after sharing their eight-month-old twin daughters had been diagnosed with a severe neuromuscular disorder.

Prior to their split being revealed, Zion had shared a tribute to Jesy in a post on Instagram, where he read out a poem he’d written in honour of their twin girls.

The musician had paid tribute to his now-ex in the caption, saying ‘we are all one,’ after she publicly shared their twins’ diagnosis.

He wrote: ‘A poem I wrote for Ocean & Story. We are all one. Jesy addressing a huge flaw in our healthcare system is the definition of a superwoman.

‘Reality is, it’s indefensible and needs to be changed, simple. Test kids at birth for SMA in the UK now that there are revolutionary treatments available.

‘Thank you to the SMA community and wider community of those living with more unique challenges for accepting us, supporting us and fighting with us.’

Zion shared a self-written poem centred on acceptance as he comes to terms with the day-to-day reality of seeing his eight-month old daughters live with the condition. 

He said: ‘They said it’s unlikely you’ll walk, you may not be able to talk, probably won’t be able to hold your head up, that’s what me and Jesy heard – SMA Type 1. 

‘And it became so clear, doctors only go near what they can measure, so what’s certain?

‘I watch your smiles like sunsets, not promised, but real. I listen to you babble the sweetest melodies, in the moment it makes me wonder, if I keep telling you who I want you to be, what I want you to do, what I expect from you, am I loving you, or am I loving my fear?

‘If I take you for how God knitted you, just as you are, nothing removed, am I loving you? Am I accepting you?’

He added: ‘Story, is your heart okay? Ocean, how’s your mind? I hear strength in your lungs every time you cry, two little warrior girls who already know how to fight.

‘Honestly, my worry isn’t the milestones, isn’t forcing life to live a different way. My worry is quieter than that, deeper. It’s about accepting you, loving you for who you are right now, without conditions.

‘No matter what tomorrow brings, and no matter what yesterday was.’

On Sunday it was first revealed that Jesy and Zion had split, with a source saying: ‘She and Zion remain friends and are fully focused on their daughters.’

Before going on to tell The Sun: ‘Their priority continues to be the well-being of their daughters. They are fully united in co-parenting.’

The Daily Mail contacted Jesy Nelson and Zion Foster’s representatives for comment. 

Jesy was spotted without her engagement ring during her This Morning appearance earlier this month where she discussed daughters Ocean and Story’s Type 1 SMA (spinal muscular atrophy) diagnoses.

Considered the most severe form of SMA, Type 1 symptoms – which typically appear in infancy – include extreme muscle weakness, difficulties swallowing and respiratory issues.  

Jesy is now campaigning for SMA1 screening at birth and has started a petition to get the condition added to the newborn blood spot screening test, also known as the heel prick test.  

Addressing the issue during a recent appearance on This Morning, Jesy said: ‘I have this platform, and I almost feel like I’ve got a duty of care to raise awareness about it.

‘A little part of me feels – I don’t know if this is even crazy to say this – it feels selfish to keep this to myself and not potentially save a child’s life.’

According to the NHS website, the test is offered to every baby at five days old, and involves taking a blood sample to find out if it has one of nine rare but serious health conditions.

Speaking about the response since she revealed the news, Jesy said: ‘I’m actually overwhelmed because I wanted it to get as much reach as possible, to raise awareness about it, and just the response I actually can’t believe how amazing the response has been.

‘I could have prevented this from happening if I’d have seen a video and caught it early enough.’

She added: ‘When you know that there is something that can be done about it and it is life-changing to your child, that’s the part that I cannot accept and that is why I’m going to shout to the rooftops about this.’ 

Since the diagnosis, Jesy said her life has ‘completely changed’, and that her house looks like a hospital, adding: ‘I just want to be their mum, I don’t want to be a nurse.

‘They’ve had treatment now, thank God, that is a one-off infusion.

‘It essentially puts the gene back in their body that they don’t have and it stops any of the muscles that are still working from dying. But any that have gone, you can’t regain them back.

‘I just want to reiterate that if this is caught from birth, it’s just life-changing.’

Newborn screening for SMA is currently not available in the UK, but Scotland has announced it will screen babies from the spring.

The UK National Screening Committee does not recommend screening but has commissioned work to reassess this due to developments in treatment.

Jesy rose to fame after winning The X Factor in 2011 with Little Mix alongside Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall.

She left the band in December 2020 after nearly a decade together, and has since released two songs as a solo artist: Boyz, which featured US rapper Nicki Minaj, in 2021 and Bad Thing in 2023.

Zion proposed to Jesy during a romantic sunset trip to the beach in September with the singer sharing a close up shot of the sparkling diamond.

Alongside the post, she wrote: ‘Just got engaged to my best friend.’

Jesy and Zion began dating in January 2022 and have endured many breakups and reunions since, and they previously announced their engagement in September.

During her This Morning appearance earlier this month Jesy broke down in tears as she shared a heartbreaking update on their condition

She admitted that her home now ‘looks like a hospital’ after learning how to look after her twins and cater to their complex needs as she shared the most difficult aspects of the diagnosis.

Getting very emotional about her girls, Jesy said: ‘We’ve been told that they will probably never walk, they’ll probably never regain their neck strength. They are gonna be in wheelchairs.

‘There’s been so many stories where parents have been told this and then their children have gone on to do incredible things, so I believe that you’ve just got to manifest that.

‘They are still smiling, they’re still happy. They have each other, and that’s like the main thing that I’m like so grateful for because they could be doing this by themselves, but they’re twins and they’re going through this together.’

Looking back over the signs that the two girls had been battling the condition before their diagnosis, she added: ‘I actually knew and saw all of the signs before I even knew what SMA was.

‘But when I left the NICU, it was hammered home to me, “Don’t compare your baby, they’re not going to reach the same milestones, take them as they are,” because they were premature. 

‘When I took them home from NICU, the only thing I was really concerned about at that time was like checking their temperature, making sure they’re still breathing. I’m not checking to see if their legs are still moving…  

‘And that’s what’s frustrating knowing that for me, if this was the cards I was always going to get dealt and there was nothing I could do about it, then it’s almost easier for me to accept.’

Heaping praise on her mum for spotting the signs that eventually prompted her to take further action, she said: ‘It took for my mum to be like, “They don’t move their legs how they should be moving.”

‘Bless my mum, she’s a worrier, and I just thought my mum was being a worrier – but I noticed they were moving [their legs] less and less and less, until it just stops.

‘That is why it’s so important and vital to get treatment from birth and that it’s detected from birth.’