Singer Jade Thirlwall appeared to foreshadow her reported split from boyfriend Jordan Stephens by stating she was "going through something privately" in an interview last month. The couple, who lived together and divided their time between homes in London and Margate, are said to have separated earlier this year.
Both Thirlwall and Stephens have reportedly removed traces of each other from their respective Instagram accounts. Thirlwall's comments about her personal life came as she discussed channeling her experiences into her upcoming second album.
"Right now, I don't even know where it's heading. I'm just writing stuff. Whatever I'm going through at the minute, like privately, I'm sort of putting pen to paper," Thirlwall told The Fader. She described this period as an "exciting phase or the experimental phase, where you don't know what it's going to be yet," adding that for her, it's "sometimes the most magical part as an artist when you're writing music."
Sources cited by The Sun suggest that Thirlwall and Stephens remain on amicable terms, with friends expressing hope for a potential reconciliation. The insider told the publication, "Jade and Jordan had a very serious and loving relationship but recently they have had some frank discussions about their future and have decided to separate. It's not been an easy time but they've both been throwing themselves into work."
The couple reportedly did not mark their sixth anniversary on social media, a practice they had previously followed. Their last joint public appearance was at the Brit Awards in February, and they have not been seen together since.
Thirlwall attended her bandmate Perrie Edwards' wedding this past summer without Jordan. She and Stephens initially met during lockdown through a series of video calls, a circumstance Thirlwall previously described as "strange" but enjoyable, allowing them to get to know each other deeply.
Prior to her relationship with Stephens, Thirlwall ended a three-year relationship with Jed Elliott. She had previously expressed reservations about dating musicians due to past experiences, but found her collaboration with Stephens, who contributed to her debut album "That's Showbiz Baby!" and whose band Rizzle Kicks was active from 2008 to 2016, to be a positive one.