"I think that's the path that we're on right now. Because a lot of what happened to us wasn't even us. It was all of the pieces around us."
"We were young adolescents thrown into the spotlight. Because remember, X Factor is not even anything but a reality show that you're on TV in front of millions off the bat, and I think we all just had our own way of processing that."
"And that affected the group in general. And that affected us personally. And I think that now we're at a point in our lives where we're healing from it, and we're each doing what we were truly meant to do for ourselves."
Jauregui added that there were "No mental health resources anywhere along the way" and that the group were "expected to be an adult at adolescence, with zero knowledge of this industry."
"So many adults taking advantage of that naïveté. It's abusive."
Despite it all, though, Jauregui says she still cherishes her time with the group. "If it hadn't happened, exactly how it did, I would not be where I am. So I don't regret a second of anything that happened," she said.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.
