Pop Star Reveals Rare Reason for Her ‘Bloated’ Appearance

Isabel Infantes / Reuters English pop star Jade Thirlwall revealed that a rare medical condition causes her stomach to bloat.

Influencer Gemma Renwick posted a TikTok video titled “I can’t burp,” sharing her experience with retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction (RCPD).

The rare lifelong condition makes it physically impossible for a person to burp or belch.

“Omg I finally feel so seen and understood,” Thirlwall, 33, commented.

“It’s always been a fun fact that I can’t burp.” “But it’s caused issues my whole life, and I’m so sick of people commenting on my body onstage when I’m just bloated [as f---],” the singer wrote.

The condition, also known as no-burp syndrome, does not have serious medical impacts on a person’s health, but it can cause many unpleasant symptoms.

These include severe stomach pains, chest pains, nausea, and excessive farting, according to the Cleveland Clinic .

Thirlwall continued that she would like to try “throtox,” a portmanteau of throat and Botox, a recommended treatment in which Botox is injected into the cricopharyngeal muscle under general anesthesia to help relax it and allow the patient to burp.

But Thirlwall worried the injections would affect her vocals.

She was part of the popular girl group Little Mix with Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards, and Jesy Nelson, formed by former Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland in the U.K.’s The X Factor in 2011.

The group won the competition show, but went on hiatus in 2022, after which Thirlwall embarked on a solo career.

Thirlwall, who has previously battled with anorexia, has received negative comments about her body for years.

When she gained weight, people could be cruel with their comments.

“I have a daily battle with myself not to go on Ozempic,” she told The Guardian in August 2025.