Love Island's Shaughna Phillips Opens Up On Past Eating Disorder: 'If I Ate, I'd Feel Like A Failure'

Love Island star Shaughna Phillips has spoken out on her "unhealthy" relationship with eating, revealing she had an eating disorder a few years back.

Speaking on her YouTube channel, the reality star, 26, who appeared on the ITV dating show in 2020, said: "In 2016, 2017, I had a really bad relationship with food. I don't really like to call it an eating disorder because mainly I think I'm just in a bit of denial.

"Essentially I did have an eating disorder, I got into some really bad habits, I was terribly unhealthy.

"I would literally be happy if I could go as long as possible without eating, I'd feel like I'd accomplished something. If I did eat something, I'd feel like I'm an actual failure.

"I was weighing myself constantly and I got really skinny."

Watch a snippet from the video below:

She recalled the moment that she realised something was wrong - when a size six jumpsuit was too big for her.

Getting emotional during the Q&A, which was uploaded this week, Shaughna added: "I remember looking in the mirror, thinking, 'All my life, I've wanted to be skinny and now I'm skinny. I don't know how to stop it. I don't know how to fix the position I was in'. It had taken over my whole life.

"Friends would always say to me, 'There's a problem, you've got a problem' and I'd be like, 'No, I haven't, I wish. I'm big'."

Instagram/ Shaughna Phillips)

"I was always the big girl out of my friends, it was only after I got to such a low point and realised that no matter what weight I am, I will always feel like that no matter what I look like."

For Shaughna, things got better when she started going to the gym, and had to eat more in order to work out as much as she wanted.

She told fans that she had gained weight in lockdown, and noticed that she had started to weigh herself again.

Instagram/ Shaughna Phillips)

However, she said that she now understood her own patterns and was able to stop herself spiralling.

"I accepted what I was doing last week wasn't helping," she concluded.

Well done to Shaughna for telling her truth. We're sure this will help so many people.

Topics: Mental Health, Celebrity News, UOKM8?, Love Island

Joanna Freedman

Joanna is a journalist at Tyla with a particular interest in highlighting women's issues and telling inspiring first person stories. She's also their resident foodie, and loves covering exciting new beauty launches, too. Contact her at [email protected].

@joannafreedman