Inside Jessie J’s health challenges as she fights back with new album

Jessie J is back with a bang, having dropped her new album Don’t Tease Me With A Good Time, which is, in fact, a very good time indeed.

The record has already made headlines in the lead-up to its release, what with Jessie’s lyrics making jibes at her ex-boyfriend Channing Tatum and branding him a ‘beast’ on the track Threw It Away.

Jessie, 37, announced the album in September, having spent a large chunk of this year out of the spotlight due to health challenges.

But now, fans of the Price Tag hitmaker are thrilled to have her fighting spirit back to soundtrack their lives, her lyrics as real and raw as ever.

Following the beloved pop star’s comeback and as she continues to recover from surgery, here’s a recap of where she’s been in 2025.

What cancer does Jessie J have, and when was she diagnosed?

On June 4, Jessie took to Instagram to reveal that she had been diagnosed with early breast cancer.

She received the diagnosis in April, just before the release of her single, No Secrets.

In her original video message, the musician explained to fans: ‘I’m highlighting the word “early.” Cancer sucks in any form, but I’m holding on to the word early.’

‘I just wanted to be open and share it because selfishly, I do not talk about it enough,’ she said of her reasons for going public.

‘I’m not processing it because I’m working so hard. I also know how much sharing in the past has helped me with other people giving me their love and support and also their own stories.

‘I’m an open book. It breaks my heart that so many people are going through so much. Similar and worse.’

She added that she was going to ‘disappear for a bit’ as she underwent surgery, maintaining her loveable humour by quipping: ‘It’s a very dramatic way to get a boob job!’

What procedures has she had?

Jessie’s final performance before her first cancer procedure was at Capital’s Summertime Ball on June 15, where she delivered not only knockout vocals but also a powerful speech about heading off to ‘beat breast cancer.

Getting emotional, Jessie continued: ‘This being my last show before I go and have surgery and all the things is the most special thing, and I’m so grateful for this life, for you guys, for my career, my son, my partner, my parents, my family, my band, my crew, my people…

‘We’re so lucky; we have so much to live for.’

Jessie then underwent a mastectomy due to her early diagnosis. A mastectomy is a surgical procedure to remove all breast tissue; various types of mastectomy exist.

The Do It Like A Dude hitmaker’s op was a success, and tests found no further spread of the disease.

However, in August, Jessie was forced to postpone her tour dates upon learning she needed further treatment.

Having had one of her breasts removed, she informed fans that she needed to ‘have a second surgery’ but did not divulge details of what it would entail.

Speaking on Instagram, she did say that the procedure was ‘nothing too serious’, but it had to be done ‘by the end of the year’.

Consequently, she pushed back her October European gigs, but her US shows had to be cancelled due to date clashes.

Getting real with her millions of followers, Jessie admitted at the time that the new hurdle made her feel ‘frustrated and sad’.

‘But I need to be better,’ she reasoned. ‘I need to be healed, and this is the right decision to make.’

Jessie will also undergo reconstructive surgery to make her breasts look similar, stating frankly that there was ‘lots of healing to go’.

What other health struggles has she had?

Jessie is a pretty open book when it comes to the ups and downs of her private life.

At the age of 11, she was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which is a heart condition that can cause a very fast heartbeat. Because of this, she also suffered a minor stroke when she was 18.

Later on in her adult life, she was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, a condition that affects hearing and balance.

She was handed the diagnosis on Christmas Eve in 2020 after suddenly going deaf in her right ear and struggling to walk in a straight line.

In 2024, Jessie revealed that she had been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Additionally, in November 2021, Jessie shared that she had been pregnant and had a miscarriage, writing in a deeply moving post that her grief was ‘the loneliest feeling in the world’.

‘I’m still in shock, the sadness is overwhelming. But I know I am strong, and I know I will be OK.

‘I also know millions of women all over the world have felt this pain and way worse. I feel connected to those of you I know and those of you I don’t.’

In 2023, Jessie and her partner, basketball player Chanan Colman, 41, welcomed a baby boy named Sky Safir.

Has she still been performing?

Jessie made a triumphant return to the stage in September, saying that she felt so ‘grateful’ and like ‘a little kid’ again as she sang live for the first time in months.

‘Some of you may know, some of you may not know, but I had breast cancer surgery 11 weeks ago today, and the last show I did, I had no idea what was going to happen—and I’m still very much in the recovery process,’ she told the crowd at BBC Radio 2 in the Park in Chelmsford.

‘I’m just so grateful to be here. You have no idea how grateful I am to see so many of you singing along.’

Jessie J’s new album, Don’t Tease Me With A Good Time, is out now.

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