Chris Hughes reveals he 'struggles' with the online abuse Jesy Nelson receives
Chris has been dating Little Mix singer Jesy since January 2019
Since Love Island's Chris Hughes started dating Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson in January 2019, the pair have been inseparable, with Jesy even sparking engagement rumours recently.
Despite a number of people being sceptical about the pair's romance, ever since Jesy's anti-bullying documentary Odd One Out aired on the BBC last month, many have fallen in love with the way Chris treats his girl, totally shipping their romance.
In the documentary, Jesy revealed how she tried to take her own life after suffering horrendous online abuse when Little Mix were on The X Factor, leaving viewers in tears throughout.
Now, speaking in an interview with Mail Online, Chris has opened up about how he has to 'bite his tongue' when Jesy receives abuse from online trolls.
Speaking to the publication, Chris said, "I struggle with it. Even with myself, when I initially came out of Love Island, I was kind of unaware of the whole social media thing so I used to snap back a lot and I used to fight back to everything. But I learnt that it isn’t the way forward."
"When it’s her, I get really protective and I struggle to bite my tongue. I have bitten back at a few people, when people say negative comments on my own stuff, I’ll say something back and block them. I like to have my say because I’m one of them people who fight for stuff."
Chris, who recently opened up about his infertility fears, then added, "But I am very protective, because It’s not nice. Other people judge people who they don’t know, but I know who she is. Honestly you couldn’t meet anyone nicer, you’d walk away thinking 'she’s the nicest girl I’ve ever met!'' She’s got a heart of gold and she wouldn’t say boo to a goose."
During Jesy's Odd One Out documentary, fans were left gushing about the pair's relationship when Chris revealed he often walks to the fridge just to look at a photo of Jesy without make-up on.
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Check out Jesy Nelson's entire relationship history below:
2012-2014: Jordan Banjo
If you rewind your minds back to 2012, just as Little Mix were emerging off the back of their X Factor win, Jesy started dating Diversity dancer Jordan Banjo. The pair are rumoured to have split because of their conflicting schedules.
2014-2016: Jake Roche
In 2014, Jesy started dating Jake Roche, son of Loose Women/The Nolans star, Coleen Nolan and Eastenders legend, Shane Richie. Jake was also the frontman of pop band, Rixton.
Jake popped the question to Jesy backstage at a gig, and he even enlisted the help of Ed Sheeran to perform one of Jesy's favourite songs in the moment.
Despite the epic proposal, Jesy and Jake didn't actually make it down the aisle, with the pair announcing their split in 2016.
2017: Chris Clark
Following a number of whispers that Jesy was dating TOWIE star Chris Clark in 2017, the Little Mix singer confirmed the news in the March.
The pair attended a number of events together and gushed about each other on their social media accounts for a number of months, before calling it quits later the same year.
2017-2018: Harry James
Jesy started dating musician Harry James in the summer of 2017, with the pair being spotted for the first time together on holiday in Mykonos.
Harry accompanied Jesy to the 2018 BRIT Awards where she was performing with Little Mix.
Their romance continued to blossom throughout 2018, with Jesy and Harry posting snaps on social media, and gushing about each other at every given opportunity.
After 16 months of dating, Jesy and Harry's relationship came to an end in November 2018.
2019: Chris Hughes
After weeks of rumours that Jesy was dating Love Island 2017 star Chris Hughes, the pair confirmed their romance during a trip to Ireland, posting this cosy snap to their socials.
Although the pair briefly split after just three weeks of dating, they quickly rekindled their romance.
2019: Chris Hughes
After going official, Jesy and Chris weren't shy in expressing their love for each other, with Chris calling Jesy his 'girlfriend' during a radio interview in March 2019.
Chris said: "I'm the happiest I've ever been. It's official, she's my girlfriend. I'm so happy, she's the nicest girl I've ever met, this is no exaggeration, she's got a heart like she was your mother or something. She's so caring. We just get on like best mates, and that's the beauty about it."
January 2020: Chris Hughes
Chris appeared in Jesy's NTA-winning documentary Odd One Out, supporting his then-girlfriend and also opening up about how it affected their relationship. There was a lovely moment where he explained that he'd often go into the kitchen and pretend to make a brew, only to use the time instead to look at a photo of Jesy without makeup on which is on the fridge.
Following the documentary's air date, Chris welled up in an interview on This Morning, explaining how he'd struggled to cope with the trolling that Jesy had received.
Chris accompanied Jesy to the National Television Awards, where she won the Best Factual Entertainment Award for Odd One Out, thanking Chris in her acceptance speech.
2020: Chris Hughes
As the pair self-isolated at different houses during lockdown for the Coronavirus pandemic, rumours emerged that Jesy and Chris had decided to 'split'. Chris later confirmed the news, but announced the pair were still good friends.
2022: Zion Foster
In 2022, Jesy started dating rapper Zion Foster. Despite a brief split in 2024, the pair seemed to be the perfect match, even releasing a song together, entitled 'Mine' in August that year. The lyrics, which likely allude to the beginnings of their relationship, include: 'I walked in the room, yeah, tipsy off that juice / And I noticed you, I didn't have a clue / That I'd be leavin' here with you, you won't let them other dudes / That's why I'm so into you, that's why I'm so into you, mm.'
2025: Jesy and Zion announce pregnancy
In January 2025, Jesy announced the happy news that her and Zion were expecting twins! Sharing her excitement with her followers with a sweet pic of her eating from a bowl, Jesy wrote the caption: 'She's eating for 3 now 👶👶'.
Fans were quick to flood the comments with their congratulations, with ex-boyfriend Chris Hughes even writing: 'Go on girl 🤍👶🏻'.
March 2025: Jesy and Zion update fans on pregnancy
After informing fans that Jesy would have to undergo a procedure in March 2025 after their babies were diagnosed with a rare condition called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), Jesy and Zion kept fans updated with a series of videos on Instagram. Jesy said: 'We are still in hospital. I've been recovering but we have some amazing news. The TTTS has cleared up, the operation was a success which is just absolutely incredible. We're so, so lucky to have the most amazing doctors.
'I can't leave the hospital as my waters could break at any point and I'm still very early. So I can't leave the hospital until I'm a certain amount of weeks. We're just so grateful that they're still here and they're still going strong.'
May 2025: Jesy and Zion become parents
In May 2025, Jesy and Zion welcomed their twin daughters, Ocean and Story in to the world. They wrote on social media: 'So… Our beautiful baby girls decided to come at 31 weeks plus 5 days. It all happened so quickly, but we are so blessed that they are here with us, healthy and fighting strong! We've never felt more in love 🥹 Everybody meet Ocean Jade Nelson-Foster and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster. Born on 15.05.2025 🌊📖.'
September 2025: Jesy and Zion get engaged
In September 2025, Jesy and Zion announced their engagement, taking to Instagram to share a gorgeous pic of them on the beach at sunset, flashing a sparkly ring. 'Jesy wrote: Just got engaged to my best friend 🥹💍'. Awwww!
Meanwhile, Jesy and the rest of the Little Mix girls, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, bring their 'LM5 Tour' to the UK this week, performing some of their biggest hits around the UK and Ireland.
Check out the 'LM5 Tour' set list right here.
NOW WATCH: Jesy Nelson's Hair Transformations
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