OPINION - Little Mix and the ex: I’m so over girl band feuds

When they became the first band to win the X Factor in 2011, Little Mix were constantly touted as an exception to the “girl band curse” — the idea that these groups are doomed to fail because infighting will eventually lead to their demise (see The Spice Girls, Destiny’s Child, Girls Aloud).

I hate to say it, but it’s true — it’s difficult to find a girl band that haven’t been marred by an acrimonious split.

Of course, it’s not as if boy bands are immune to spats — but the latest episode in Little Mix’s fallout has reached new lows. Over the weekend, Jesy Nelson, who left the group last year, was spotted kissing her ex-bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s ex-boyfriend. Cue gasps of horror.

The pair were seen enjoying dinner in Soho and later riding around the city in a rickshaw where they shared a kiss before heading to a nightclub in Mayfair. Although neither Nelson nor actor Lucien Laviscount have confirmed — nor denied — that they’re seeing each other, in photos online they certainly look like they have plenty of chemistry.

Friends of Nelson have reportedly said she is “mortified” by the release of the photos — I’m not sure quite what she expected after smooching her ex-best friend’s ex-boyfriend in the middle of Soho on a Saturday night. It seemed more like an overt middle finger than an unfortunate accident.

This merry-go-round of pettiness is embarrassing. Especially when you consider all of the players involved are in their late twenties and early thirties.

Even without Nelson, Little Mix are certainly the most successful girl band in the world at the moment. They have always promised to stay together and seemed to be genuine best friends.

So why does it always end like this? Perhaps it’s something about the pressures of constantly being in the spotlight coupled with being under a microscope as a woman in the entertainment industry. Or maybe it’s natural that after spending so much time with each other, band members will want to go their own way.

Either way, can this be the very last plot point of a this depressing trend? Here’s hoping Little Mix can put their differences aside to give us a civil Spice Girls-esque reunion some day, although I won’t be holding my breath.

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