Father gone, only a mother left behind: Jesy Nelson shares a deeply emotional new set of photos of her twin daughters Ocean and Story with feeding tubes, revealing the harsh reality of life after a devastating diagnosis
Jesy Nelson has shared a series of deeply emotional new photos of her twin daughters, Ocean and Story, showing them with feeding tubes in their noses as she continues to speak candidly about the heartbreaking reality of their daily lives following a devastating medical diagnosis.

The 34-year-old singer, who welcomed the twins with her former partner Zion Foster, posted the images to her Instagram Stories on Monday. The nine-month-old girls were pictured being pushed in their prams, wrapped up warmly in matching pink hats, teddy-bear coats and a knitted blanket. Jesy affectionately captioned the snaps “Ocean bear” and “Story bear”.

Ocean and Story were diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1), a rare genetic neuromuscular condition that causes progressive muscle weakness and wasting. Because the disease severely affects swallowing, sucking and breathing, the twins rely on feeding tubes as part of their daily care.

Alongside the tender family moments, Jesy also shared images of herself dressed up and smiling as she caught up with friends, offering a glimpse of how she is trying to balance normality with the emotional toll of caring for two seriously ill babies.
In a raw and honest interview, Jesy admitted that the medical procedures her daughters must endure every single day leave her feeling emotionally broken. She explained that while she knows the treatments are necessary, hearing her babies cry and scream can make it feel as though she is hurting them herself.
She said every day is overwhelmingly intense and that no amount of talking can truly explain what it feels like unless someone sees it first-hand. Jesy added that there are still many medical tasks she struggles with and never imagined would become part of her life, admitting that she simply wants to be “their mum” rather than the person causing them distress, even when it is for their own good.

Describing life with the twins, the former Little Mix star said her days are an emotional rollercoaster. Some days feel unbearably heavy, while others are slightly lighter, even if the reality of their diagnosis never truly leaves her mind. She has been reassured by other mothers that this emotional up-and-down is normal, and says she is learning to take each day as it comes.

Jesy is now campaigning for SMA screening to be added to the standard newborn blood spot (heel-prick) test, arguing that early diagnosis could dramatically change a child’s future. She believes that a test costing around £1 could spare families unimaginable pain and potentially prevent severe physical damage by allowing treatment to begin sooner.

Speaking previously on Great Company with Jamie Laing, Jesy also addressed the grim prognosis often associated with SMA1, where many children do not survive beyond the age of two without timely treatment. Despite this, she said she remains hopeful that Ocean and Story will defy the odds now that they are receiving care, describing her daughters as the strongest and most resilient babies she has ever known.

The twins have already faced enormous challenges. While still in the womb, they developed twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a rare and life-threatening condition affecting identical twins who share a placenta. Born prematurely at 31 weeks, Jesy said the odds were stacked against them from the very beginning — yet she continues to believe her girls are fighters.