Laura Crane has spoken about her experiences of having an eating disorder from the age of 16.
The Love Island contestant said that during her teenage years she developed bulimia, leading to a lot of body confidence issues which only progressed as she continued to work in the public eye.
Laura told magazine Stab that she wanted to go on the reality show to prove to herself that she could take the pressure of intense judgement from a wider audience.
She said:
“I wanted to tell my journey before going on the show. That I had bulimia and an eating disorder since I was 16.
“That being a surfer and traveling the world and modelling put all these pressures on me as a girl growing up in that industry. Which, don’t get me wrong, it is an amazing way to grow up, but it does weigh on you.”
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She went on to say that nowadays, she “so much healthier” but that an eating disorder is a mental illness and that it’s not always easy to regain control afterwards.
“An eating disorder is a mental illness. It fucks you up in the head and it shows.
“You can’t control things and when you feel that out of control, it becomes the only thing you have control over. So you just hang onto it. It’s hard to let go, but once you do you get your life back.”
Laura said that she knew she was always going to be compared to the other girls in the villa because she didn’t wear a lot of makeup or hair extensions.
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The surfer saw online comments every day calling her body “masculine,” but said the overall, the negativity didn’t bother her that much.
“A lot of girls have been like, ‘It’s so nice to see a girl in there that’s sporty with a sporty physique and can do the things the boys are doing.’
“For me, the positive comments, although rarer, outweighed the negative ones in the end. Even the really bad ones, they haven’t bothered me.”
Laura left the villa with fellow islander Jack a week before the final.
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The pair had coupled up after Jack dumped old Laura in favour of new Laura leaving old Laura to couple up with cool Paul.
New Laura (Laura Crane) said that once she was in the villa, she forgot she was being filmed for most of the time.
She also said that herself and Jack are still dating but that they’re “taking things slow.”
