Camila Mendes, who plays Veronica Lodge in Riverdale has opened up about her eating disorder diagnosis and revealed how she was in denial before seeking help.
WATCH: Camila talks about body positivity
Speaking at a panel for PopSugar with model Candice Huffine, Mendes revealed: “I don’t even think I knew I had an eating disorder until I was in the industry.”
The 24-year-old went on to share that it took until her career breakthrough to finally confront the issue as her sister was also bulimic.
“I had this mentality … [my sister’s] situation was a lot more serious than mine so I’d always find comparisons like, ‘Oh, I’m not like that so I must not have an eating disorder like I just purge every once in a while, it’s not a big deal, right?’” Camila shared.
She came to the realisation that she had the disorder when she got involved with nonprofit organisation Project Heal whom raise funds to help people recovering from eating disorders.
A big moment for Camila was when she had to deal with fittings on the Riverdale set that again pushed for the actress to seek help.
“I started to see a therapist and started getting serious about recovery when I couldn’t get through a fitting” she said.
She got into detail about the “overwhelming” fitting sessions for The CW hit show (Netflix for Australian fans) where she was trying on clothes for Veronica that she wouldn’t ever choose to wear in real life such as short skirts, and skin-revealing outfits.
“It made me really insecure, so it got to a point where I couldn’t get through a fitting. Thirty minutes in, I was crying … I was like, ‘Why don’t things fit me a certain way?’” added The Perfect Date star.
Mendes concluded the raw interview by recommending others to seek help as soon as possible.
“That’s when I made a change and I started seeing a therapist and I highly recommend it,” she said.
If you or someone you know is affected by an eating disorder, call the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 4673 or visit their website here.
https://www.thebutterflyfoundation.org.au/
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