The way Perrie smiles when Jade comes in to harmonize with her. 🥹 THIS is what I mean when I talk about girl group chemistry. The support, the joy, the way they bring out the best in each other. My girls!
Jordan Stephens addresses the reaction to him saying he loves his ex-girlfriend Jade while accepting Attitude’s Ally Of The Year award, saying he “can’t understand” why people find it unusual to love an ex.
He reflects on why he “obviously [still] loves Jade” after their “incredible” time together, and shares why he thinks people should embrace love “in all of its different forms”:
“Initially, on receiving the [Ally Of The Year] award, when I was told, I immediately thought, ‘Wow, Jade’s won that award.’ Obviously, Jade is one of the proudest and loudest allies to the queer community and has been her entire career. [Her entire] life, really. But especially in her career, she’s utilised her platform. At one point, in quite a badass way. [Little Mix] put up a Pride flag in a country where it’s very illegal, so they’re kind of gangster.
So I was like, ‘I need to mention Jade.’ I need to at least acknowledge that a big part of my allyship has been by being alongside her. But when it came down to it, I hadn’t written a script. I just really wanted to finish by acknowledging Jade.
Then apparently, some people have run with this idea that I said, ‘I love Jade,’ which… like, I really can’t understand that people think me saying I love Jade, with her not being my partner, is unusual. I can’t begin to get into how distant I feel from that mentality in life. That, to me, is indicative of a world I don’t want to be part of.
Like, obviously I love Jade! Well, not obviously, sorry. [Some] people have big arguments, people can do each other wrong, I get that… But there should also be a very open space where people can acknowledge, ‘I’ve had an incredible time with this person, and I adore them, and that just won’t change.’”
[Miquita: “Well, I think it’s just so indicative to the breakup. You and Jade’s relationship ended in a very different way to, ‘I hate you, I never want to speak to you again, get the fuck away from me.’ It’s a very different kind of thing. It’s two people growing.”]
“Yeah. In a nutshell, it’s confusing because… I don’t know, man… For a lot of the time, I was unsure how to avoid there being too many specifics [about the breakup]. There should be some protection. But I think what I’m trying to say is, what I said [in the speech] was *literally* from the heart – because I hadn’t written it [laughs] – and acknowledging somebody who’s massive in [the LGBTQ+] space… It was very weird for me, honestly, being at those awards without her, because she really does stand up for that whole scene and loves it, and is around [it a lot]. A lot of the people there, I met [through her].
…I just feel like we should be trying to love more and not policing that term.”
[Miquita: “Yeah, because it’s just a load of people going, ‘What?! You’ve had a breakup! You can’t love her anymore!’ The world is so much more complicated than that. And the most simple part is: ‘Where do you think love goes?’”]
“Yeah. I really think we should be trying our best to hold on to that feeling in all of its different forms. It’s difficult to navigate how I feel about my life and myself in a world that runs with these bizarre rules and stories. However, I will also say, a lot of people just said it’s respectful, it’s bless, and then they kept moving. I think [some] people were just salacious.”
O line-up do #LollaBR 2027 está completo e oficialmente liberado 🔥
Dias 19, 20 e 21 de março, nos encontramos no Autódromo de Interlagos para celebrar 15 anos de Lolla no Brasil. Já pode imaginar a festa! 🤯Garanta seu lugar: https://t.co/wb3b6m8VV3