Camila Cabello expected frosty reception after 5H split

Camila Cabello "didn’t expect" a lot of love following her departure from Fifth Harmony.

The ‘Bad Things’ hitmaker made the decision to quit the girl group in December and was "so emotional" about the outpouring of love she received.

She said: "I’ve been trying to stay away from social media for almost two years now. There has always been negative stuff on there. Even if you read 100 messages of love, the hurtful one is what you remember.

"But I did see a lot of love and support from my fans. Honestly, I didn’t expect it. I was so emotional at that point, that when I saw some really encouraging things people were saying, I burst into an ugly cry."

And the 19-year-old singer is looking forward to be "brave and opening up her soul" with her future music releases.

Explaining her decision to leave the band, she added: "Fifth Harmony wasn’t the maximum expression of me individually. My fans are really going to know me from the music I’m writing. My goal is to be brave and open up my soul."

And Camila says music has helped her overcome her shyness and admits she has "gone through a lot of self-discovery" in the last few years.

Speaking to the March/April issue of Seventeen magazine, she said: "I didn’t really get to do the teenager thing. I was shy back in high school: I would go to school, come home, and watch YouTube videos. Being in music has pushed me to overcome that.

"I have gone through a lot of self-discovery in the past few years, figuring out who I am and being comfortable with just being me. I’ve attracted a lot of great people into my life that way, just by being myself. Now I want to go out there, meet people, learn about them, and make friends."