Jesy Nelson has admitted she does not talk to her former Little Mix bandmates.
The singer left the chart-topping girl band in December after nine years, blaming the toll being in the group had taken on her mental health.
She said she loves the girls but believes “there has to be space” and hopes they will “all come back together” in future.
Nelson, 30, has signed a solo deal with Polydor Records and is preparing to release the single Boyz on October 8 featuring Nicki Minaj.
The singer, who stars on the cover of Glamour UK’s October self-care issue, told the magazine: “I haven’t spoken to the girls.
“It is weird because for so many years we were as close as sisters, together every hour of the day for weeks, sharing beds, laughing, crying, just 24/7 the four of us together and then… Nothing.”
The band were formed on the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011 and were the first group to win the competition.
Little Mix, originally consisting of Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Nelson, went on to become one of the most successful outputs from the singing competition and one of the biggest girl groups of the last 10 years, selling more than 50 million records worldwide.
Asked if she has met the babies of Edwards and Pinnock – who both became mothers recently – Nelson said: “No. I’ve sent a few texts, but that’s it.
“I can’t explain it, it’s like there has to be this distance.
“We were so close so you can’t do in-between, there has to be space and hopefully… Hopefully at some point in the future we can all come back together.
“I love them. They are my sisters in so many ways, but for the time being we just don’t talk.”
Nelson said she does not plan to have children herself, adding: “It’s just not in me. I think as a woman, [motherhood is] either in you or it isn’t.
“You either have that maternal feeling or you don’t, and I’ve never had that feeling. I think women have to do what is right for them.”
Speaking about turning 30 in June, she told Glamour UK: “There was so much pain in my 20s. My 30s are going to be all about me.
“Some people might think that’s selfish, but I want to love me and be happy in myself, in my music, in my career.
“I don’t want to just say it, I want to do it and feel it and that makes me excited.”
Romford-born Nelson has been open about her struggles when she was part of Little Mix.
She received praise for the 2019 BBC documentary Odd One Out, in which she revealed abuse on social media got so bad she attempted to take her own life.
Discussing building up her self-confidence, she said: “I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there.
“I don’t wear corsets, I stopped the lip fillers. I’m still wearing make-up, but nowhere near as much as I used to.
“My body confidence has improved so much.”
The full interview is in Glamour UK’s digital October issue online now.