Zion Foster has posted an emotional tribute to his twin daughters following the revelation that both girls have been diagnosed with a devastating genetic condition.
The rapper shared an image on his Instagram Stories showing Ocean Jade and Story Monroe lying together in a pushchair, beaming broadly despite having breathing tubes attached to their noses.
“Still smiling through all the challenges,” Mr Foster wrote alongside the photograph. “Daddy loves you so much.”
The touching post came after his fiancée, Jesy Nelson, 34, broke the news on Sunday that their eight-month-old daughters are battling Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1.
Mr Foster shared this snap to Instagram on Sunday
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Ms Nelson fought back tears in an emotional video as she explained the severity of her twin daughters’ condition to her followers.
“It’s a severe muscular disease that a baby can get,” she said.
“It affects every muscle in the body, down to legs, arms, breathing, (and) swallowing.”
The singer described how the illness progressively destroys muscle tissue throughout the body, with fatal consequences if left untreated.
Jesy Nelson and Zion Foster with twins Ocean Jade and Story Monroe
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“Essentially, what it does over time is it kills the muscles in the body,” Ms Nelson told fans.
“If it’s not treated in time, your baby’s life expectancy will not make it past the age of two.”
The condition, also known as Werdnig-Hoffman disease, is the most severe form of Spinal Muscular Atrophy and causes dramatic muscle weakness alongside serious breathing and swallowing difficulties.
Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital delivered a heartbreaking prognosis when they assessed the twins.
Jesy Nelson has been open about her difficult birth on Instagram
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“We were told that they will never be able to walk and never regain their neck strength, so they will be disabled,” Ms Nelson revealed in her video message.
Despite this devastating news, the family has moved swiftly to begin treatment, with Ms Nelson expressing profound gratitude that her daughters have received care.
“The best thing we can do right now is get them treatment and hope for the best,” she explained.
The singer emphasised the critical importance of acting quickly, noting that once treatment began, it progressed rapidly because timing is crucial with this disease.
Ms Nelson shared the emotional update on Sunday
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“I am so grateful for it because without it they will die,” Ms Nelson said of the treatment her daughters have undergone in recent weeks.
The former X Factor contestant described the past few months as an unrelenting ordeal of medical appointments and caregiving responsibilities that no parent should face.
“It has just been endless hospital appointments, I feel like the hospital has become my second home,” she said. “I have had to become a nurse because I have to put them on breathing machines and do stuff that no mother should have to do with their child.”
The singer broke down as she reflected on how dramatically her life has changed since the diagnosis.
Ms Zion and Mr Foster live with their twins in Essex
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“The last few months have been the most heartbreaking time of my life,” Ms Nelson admitted. “I literally feel like my whole life has done a 360. I almost feel like I am grieving a life I thought I was going to have with my children.”
Despite her anguish, Ms Nelson remains hopeful that her daughters will overcome the odds and achieve things previously thought impossible for children with this condition.
Ocean Jade and Story Monroe arrived prematurely at 31 weeks on May 15, 2025, following a challenging pregnancy during which Ms Nelson spent considerable time hospitalised after being diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.
The Bad Boy singer explained she wanted to share her family’s story to help other parents recognise warning signs early, highlighting symptoms such as floppiness in infants, bell-shaped stomachs, and rapid breathing.
She also stressed the importance of heel prick testing at birth, which she said could prevent much of the damage caused by delayed diagnosis.
SMA occurs when both parents carry a faulty gene, with approximately one in 40 people being carriers.