South Shields' Jade Thirlwall opens up about starting lockdown relationship with Jordan Stephens

The South Shields born star has been dating the Rizzle Kicks singer, 28, since earlier this year.

Appearing on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show, the 27-year-old discussed starting a new relationship during lockdown.

“We met on Zoom. I slid into the DMs. Then we had some Zoom dates,” she said.

Jade, who is the Honorary President at South Shields FC and recently invested in the club, added: “It’s nice doing it that way, we got to know each other.

“And I’d thought, if this goes terribly I’ll say the WiFi’s gone.”

It comes as the bandmates opened up on the show about how they did not expect being in a pop group to ‘be this hard’.

On Tuesday, November 17, it was announced that Jesy Nelson is taking an extended break from the band for private medical reasons.

Perrie Edwards, who is also from South Shields, said: “I don’t think we expected it to be this hard.

“When you’re young and you think of being a popstar, you think, ‘Oh I want everyone to love me and ask for my autograph’.

She added: “We don’t rest, we don’t sleep. But we love success so we’re willing to work for it and it’s been an amazing 10 years.”

The girl band was formed in 2011, after the four members auditioned on The X Factor as soloists, but were then placed into a group by the judges in the show’s later stages.

Speaking on how they support each other, Jade said: “We’ve got each other, that’s the beauty of being in a band.

“We just stay grounded with our friends and family.

“When we get time off we go straight home and see the family.

“Our mams would be the first to tell us off if we were getting a bit big headed.”

While Leigh-Anne Pinnock discussed how “people don’t see how hard it is, the things that go on behind the scenes”.

She added: “People don’t understand the pressure. People sometimes see popstars and think, ‘Oh it is glam and glitz’, but it is really hard.”

The Jonathan Ross Show airs on Saturday at 9.50pm on ITV.

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