PERRIE Edwards has admitted suffering what felt like a 'dagger to the heart' when she was rejected by Jesy Nelson.
The singer, 31, broke down in tears about her important friendship with Little Mix stars Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall - before admitting she's tried to reach out to their ex-band member.
Jesy abruptly quit the group in 2020 and have not spoken since.
Speaking on the Happy Place podcast, Perrie spoke out about trying to "rectify things" with her former friend.
"I wrote a song about a friendship I had that I no longer have," Perrie told host Fearne Cotton.
"When it's the relationship breakdown of a friend, it's not something you hear about in music. It's just as heartbreaking if not worse [as romantic love].
"When you've been in that person's life for years and they've had your back, you've been through highs, lows and everything, all these experiences, it's a wild ride but you've gone through it together - then poof they're gone - that's hard to deal with.
"I struggled a lot with that. It's really sad, but at the same time these things sometimes happen.
"It does make you think 'do we try to rectify the situation? Should I reach out? It doesn't feel like I should, it feels like I should just stay away.'
"It's a really horrible dynamic to be in."
Perrie added: "When you try and then it doesn't get taken well either... it's like another..."
Perrie broke off an imitated being stabbed in the heart.
She continued: "You think, 'well I tried, they don't want it. You can't force someone to be friends with you.'
"It's really hard."