ADDING a baby into the mix? It’s been no problem for the hardest working girls in pop.
Perrie Edwards has just announced the birth of her first baby with Liverpool footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
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Bandmate Leigh-Anne is not far behind with Watford partner Andre Grey – telling her Instagram followers: “It’s nearly time.”
But since announcing their pregnancies four months ago, the group have been on a non-stop train of shoots, videos, singles and hard graft.
And it doesn’t look like they are about to stop anytime soon either.
Here, we tell the inside track on how Little Mix are fast becoming the busiest mamas in pop – entirely on their own terms.
Secret love
Both girls kept their pregnancies secret by wearing baggy outfits until they were ready to share the news and their bumps.
At the end of April, the girls were spotted wearing matching loose-fitting clothes for an appearance together.
Earlier in the month, they had also worn oversized costumes for their Confetti music video.
Fans were quick to point out that Jade Thirwall had joined in to protect her bandmates.
Perrie said the girls told each other they were pregnant after trying to schedule their diaries in a video call.
She said: “We just cried our eyes out.
“What timing! It wasn’t planned.”
Sweet melodies
In true showbiz style, both Perrie and Leigh-Anne announced their pregnancies with glamorous and coordinated Instagram shoots.
Perrie shared a black and white set of pics of her burgeoning bump and boyfriend Alex.
She posted: “We can’t wait to meet you baby Ox!”
Five days earlier, Leigh-Anne had posed with partner Andre in a flowing green silk crop top.
Speaking about the shoot, Leigh-Anne told Radio One: “Would you expect anything less? I’m so extra. It needed to be extra. And it had to be green as well.”
They later revealed they had slightly less glamorous cravings during the early months of pregnancy.
Leigh-Anne revealed she had been craving Frazzles while Perrie used sour candy to get through her morning sickness.
Girl power
With both girls expecting, Little Mix showed no sign of slowing down with the girls reaching new heights of fame.
Just days after revealing their news, the girls wore matching white outfits to the Brits in May.
That night, they made history by becoming the first girl band to ever win best group at the awards.
In a joint speech, they said: “It’s not easy being a female in the pop industry.
“We’ve seen the sexism and lack of diversity. We’re proud of how we’ve stuck together, stood our ground, surrounded ourselves with strong women and are now using our voices more than ever.
“The fact that a girl band have never won this award really speaks volumes.”
Just two weeks later, they were named the richest female musicians under 30 – worth £54million – in the Sunday Times Rich List.
Making a difference
During her pregnancy, Leigh-Anne tackled the issue of colourism in the UK pop scene.
In BBC documentary Race, Pop and Power, she spoke about how she felt like the “token black girl” in the group.
She said: “On The X Factor, when they dyed my hair red and shaved it, made me look like ‘the Rihanna’. I was 20 at the time and a bit naive.
“Looking back, it was clear my colour was being used to define my image.”
The documentary spoke to other female musicians of colour – including Alexandra Burke, Keisha Buchanan from the Sugababes about their experiences.
After releasing the programme, Leigh-Anne announced she and fiance Andre were launching charity The Black Fund to help black community groups in the UK.
Making music
At the end of last year, the girls released their sixth studio album and have spent 2021, releasing hit after hit.
Behind the scenes, the girls revealed they had to be carefully looked after while filming the video for Heartbreak Anthem in elaborate costumes.
In a video taken at the shoot, Perrie said: “I’m literally living my childhood dream right now in this music video. The glitz, the glamour, the hair is so crazy, the outfits and the wings.
“It’s just the start. We haven’t started filming yet. So ask me in a few hours how uncomfortable and how in pain I am, because this dress weighs, I think they said, a stone.”
Meanwhile, Leigh-Anne said: “I am going to have such a bad back tomorrow, but you know what?
“I’m sure it’s going to look amazing and it’s all going to be worth it.”
The single – starring David Guetta – made it to number three in the charts, followed.
They followed up the track with Kiss My Uh Oh with Anne Marie last month.
Short mat leave
Perrie and Leigh-Anne don’t look set to take a long mat leave – with a new single already lined up in the diary.
The band announced single Between Us will come out on November 12 in less than three month’s time.
But former bandmate Jesy – who left the group last year – predicts the girls will slow down for a while before coming back as a threesome.
Jesy said this weekend: “I reckon they’ll look after their babies, go off and do their own things for a while, then make a comeback together.
“I think they’re just as sick as a three.
“They’re still doing it for girl power. I still love them to pieces. They were like my sisters.”
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