Jade Thirlwall found it hard to adjust to life after Little Mix

Jade told Harper's Bazaar magazine: "I struggled the most to adapt to life after the group - the other girls had better distractions: families, kids.

"They went into a new chapter willingly. It was just me. I didn't know what to do with myself. Since I was 18, I lived and breathed Little Mix. It just took me a minute to adjust."

Jade released her debut solo single Angel of My Dreams last year but feared that she was too old to start a standalone career.

She recalled: "There were so many spirals. I kept thinking, 'Will I still be relevant by the time (my music) comes out? Will everyone forget about me?' And being 30-plus, you do wonder, 'Is that old to start as a solo artist?'"

Thirlwall accepts that she was being "avoidant" about moving into the next phase of her life.

The Unconditional artist reflected: "I went out with friends, and travelled. When I got back home, I was like, 'Okay girlie, let's get some therapy going, get in the studio and start figuring out who I am.'"

Jade also reflected on the "cut-throat" experience of her time in Little Mix and recalled how the band feared they could be dropped by their record label if their 2015 album Get Weird wasn't successful, even though they were an established act at the time.

She said: "It was cut-throat. You were always on a tightrope of success. If you fell out of the Top 10, there was a lot to worry about. I look back at times when we were huge, before Get Weird came out, and we had a big sleepover, all crying, 'If this isn't a Top 10 song, we'll get dropped.'

"It's wild to think about now because we were so big at the time."

Jade revealed that she has "banned herself" from social media platform X to avoid nasty comments and gets in contact with newer artists making their way in the industry to give them some support.

The singer said: "I've banned myself from Twitter (now X) - it's just a hellhole of awfulness.

"My heart goes out to newer artists. I don't think I could've coped as a solo artist had I not been in a group for 10 years. It gave me a thick skin."

She added: "I reach out to people who are just starting. I'll DM people if I see they're struggling, especially women. There's room for everyone to support each other."