Jesy Nelson cries during interview as she reveals her twin babies may never walk again

Jesy Nelson became emotional as she discussed the health of her 8-month-old twin daughters’ rare diagnosis in her first interview.

During an appearance on British talk show This Morning on Wednesday, January 7, Nelson, 34, revealed that he was “overwhelmed” by the response after opening up about his daughters Ocean Jade and Story Monroe’s spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 diagnosis in a video he shared on Instagram on Sunday, January 4.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, SMA is “a genetic disorder that causes worsening muscle weakness.”

“There are five subtypes, with varying degrees of severity and age of onset. There is no cure for SMA, but certain treatments and medications can help manage symptoms,” the site added.

Nelson, who welcomed her daughters with fiancé Zion Foster, 27, on May 15, 2025, told This Morning hosts Cat Deeley, 49, and Ben Shepherd, 51, about the diagnosis on Wednesday: “They’re saying they’ll probably never walk, they’ll never get the strength in their necks back. They’ll be in a wheelchair.”

“There are so many stories of parents being told things like this and then their kids going on to do incredible things. So I believe this needs to be represented in real life,” the Little Mix alum added.

she continued. “They’re still smiling and happy. They have each other and that’s what I’m so grateful for. Because they could have done this on their own, but they’re twins and they’re going through this together, and I think that’s beautiful.”

“All I can do is do my best for them. Give them positive energy,” Nelson insisted.

The “Boys” singer continued, “My life has completely changed. If you come to my house, it’s like a hospital,” adding, “My whole hallway is filled with medical stuff and it’s really crazy how you can go from one extreme to the next.”

She revealed that her daughter Story “has to be put on a ventilator at night because he is not strong enough to breathe on his own.”

Nelson said the twins “need a cough suppressor to help them cough and have a feeding tube inserted into their noses to drain secretions from their chests,” Nelson said. “We had to learn this within a few days of being diagnosed. Just like the horrible thing that just happened, there’s so much to deal with while you guys are trying to cope.”

The musician admitted getting emotional, saying, “That’s the part that I really think about. I’m still struggling and I’m not going to lie, but that’s the part that really appeals to me. I just want to be their[mother]I don’t want to be a nurse…that’s hard.”

Nelson wanted to reiterate that if you were born with this condition, it can be life-changing.

Talking about seeing the signs before her diagnosis, she added, “Actually, I knew and saw all the signs before I even knew what SMA was,” adding, “But… when I left the NICU, they told me, ‘Don’t compare your babies… They’re premature babies, they’re not going to reach the same milestones, accept them as they are.'”

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Nelson gave birth to a baby girl at 31 weeks. “When I brought them home from the NICU, all I was really concerned about was taking their temperatures and making sure they were still breathing. I wasn’t checking to see if their legs were still moving,” she told This Morning.

“That’s why it’s frustrating for me. If this was the card I was dealt all the time and there was nothing I could do about it, it would almost be easy to accept,” said the former X Factor UK star.

“But when you know there’s something you can do about it and it’s going to change your child’s life, that’s the part I can’t accept,” she said.

Nelson’s interview came after she said in an Instagram Stories video on Tuesday, January 6, that she was planning to launch a petition campaign in support of adding an SMA screening test to the UK’s standard newborn heel prick test (now called the newborn blood spot test).

According to the country’s National Health Service (NHS), the test “helps to see if an infant has one of 10 rare diseases, some of which can be life-threatening” and is usually carried out when an infant is five days old.

Revealing the baby’s diagnosis in an Instagram video on Sunday, Nelson told her followers: “This is the most serious muscle disease a baby can have,” explaining that if the disease is not treated, the baby’s life expectancy will drop to two years.

Nelson said the past three months had been “the most heartbreaking time of my life,” adding: “I am grieving the life I intended to have with my children.”

“I have to be grateful because at the end of the day they are still here and that is the most important thing, they are being treated,” she said. “And I truly believe that despite all adversity, my daughters will fight this problem with the right support.”