Kelsea Ballerini is getting candid about her struggles with bulimia and diet pills.
The 28-year-old country singer recently opened up about her battles with an eating disorder in an interview with People as she promoted her new poetry book titled “Feel Your Way Through.”
She revealed that her struggles began after her father and mother got divorced. She was a teenager at the time. She deals with her emotions during that time through one of the poems in her book, titled “Kangaroo.” Kelsea wrote:
“A boy names Jackson called me ‘kangaroo’ when I was a freshman in high school… he explained this new nickname because of my belly and little legs.”
Kelsea discussed candidly in her book how she battled bulimia, took diet pills, and excessively worked out, until finally, she sought help at the age of 18 after passing out many times. She told People about her struggles:
“It’s a journey, and it’s never-ending.”
Kelsea also spoke about how these days, she is much more kind to herself and her body:
“I’m in a much healthier spot, and I’m much more gentle with how I talk to myself and my body. There are still days where I revert back to being that 12-year-old, and I have to catch myself, and hold myself accountable to the work I’ve done.
And she stated that now, what she values is being healthy, not skinny:
I don’t work out to get skinny, I work out to be healthy. I don’t eat a salad to be skinny, I eat a salad to be healthy. I’ve re-calibrated what it means to me to just look in the mirror and just be like, ‘Man, I’m healthy. I’m strong. I have good breath support to do my job well.’
Those are things that matter to me now, rather than: ‘I look skinny in a dress.’”
