United Kingdom, April 4 -- Jade Thirlwall felt like a "weight lifted" as soon as she turned 30.

The former Little Mix star, now 32, celebrated the milestone in 2022 and she's now admitted she embraced her new decade because she "stopped caring as much about what people think" and her new care-free attitude was a huge help as she launched her solo career.

She told Puss Puss Magazine: "Literally the minute I turned 30 it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders and I stopped caring as much about what people think.

"Which is lucky, because I feel like now I'm on my own, I'll obviously get more scrutiny. There's more of a magnifying glass."

She went on to add: "I think people still expect me to look like the 20-year-old girl that I was, ...