Perrie Edwards finds writing Little Mix album therapeutic

Perrie Edwards has found the process of making Little Mix's new album to be "like therapy".

The singer went through a difficult time in 2015 when she split from former One Direction singer Zayn Malik after a two-year engagement, with the news breaking while Perrie and her bandmates, Jesy Nelson, Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, were in the middle of a promotional tour.

Perrie has now revealed she's been finding it healing to channel her feelings about that challenging period of time on the upcoming album, although she doesn't mention the break-up specifically.

"It's very - and I know we probably said this about the last album - honest," Perrie told Sugarscape.com. "It's very (much about) what's been happening in the past few months or the past year. We've been through a lot personally, emotionally and career-wise. Every aspect, we've wanted to just get off our chest and the best way to do it is with this album... That's why we're loving it so much. It's like therapy."

The 23-year-old star said the girls were worried they wouldn't be able to top their third album Get Weird, which was released last year (15), but she thinks they've managed to up their game and boasts it "sounds epic" so far. She hopes it will be released later in 2016 but they're "just gonna let it happen naturally" rather than rush to put out a record.

Last year (15), Perrie put on a brave face during the Little Mix promo tour, telling interviewers she was good following the split, but she broke down in tears during one performance of their track The End. She has since spoken out to thank her bandmates for their support, but hasn't revealed the nature of the break-up.

Perrie has since been linked to a number of men including McFly guitarist Dougie Poynter, while Zayn has moved on with model Gigi Hadid, who he's reportedly living with.