Jessie Wynter reveals she was ‘depressed’ and ‘lost all motivation’ during battle with body dysmorphia and details relapse after second Love Island stint: ‘It consumed my life’

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Love Island’s Jessie Wynter has revealed she was “depressed” and “lost all motivation” at the height of her battle with an eating disorder.

The influencer, 27, who appeared on the Australian and British versions of the dating show, was first diagnosed with body dysmorphia at the age of 19 after struggling with her weight and body image since she was a teenager.

In an exclusive interview during Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Jessie told MailOnline that due to “stress” and an “uncomfortable environment” she suffered a relapse after her second season on Love Island.

Jessie explained that before reality TV she worked in banking, but was forced to quit when she fell into “the deepest part of her eating disorder.”

She said: “I had no energy so I left my job because I wasn’t really well enough to work and because I suffered from an eating disorder I became quite depressed and lost motivation and interest in anything.” .

“My eating disorder literally consumed my entire life.”

Speaking about what triggered her eating disorder, Jessie said: “For me, there are a lot of contributing factors.” One of them was her low self-esteem, and in fact, at the time she had undiagnosed ADHD.

‘So when I was diagnosed with ADHD, it started to make a lot more sense. But yeah, it almost became a coping mechanism for how I felt about myself.

‘I had a lot of negative feelings towards myself while I was going through body dysmorphia and then I found an eating disorder and became obsessed with the foods I eat and my exercise.

“It was a way to take my mind off what was going on in other areas of my life and then, unfortunately, social media started to become a big part of my life as well. I guess all those added pressures actually fueled my disorder.” food.

Jessie added: “I had issues with my body image long before social media, but when you also get these comments about how you look and about your weight gain, your weight loss and what’s going on with your body, I think that It also feeds on it.

In her early twenties, Jessie qualified as a physiotherapist and wanted to become a positive role model for her clients.

As part of this, he mentally recovered and physically returned to a healthy weight; However, she still struggled with eating disorders.

Going on Love Island Australia, Jessie, who competed in Miss Universe Australia a few months earlier, vowed not to feel insecure about her body and went in with the mindset that she was there for her personality, not her body, and felt confident throughout. the whole process. show.

Unfortunately, during her time on Love Island UK, due to the drama that unfolded, Jessie fell back into old habits and lost a large amount of weight again.

Jessie was accused of being “fake” by several of her fellow islanders, which left her in tears at the time.

She explained: ‘I must admit that when I left Love Island, UK, I had a relapse. It was not as serious as in the past and relapses are very common.

“I’m not going to be ashamed of it because it happens and I think the reason for the relapse was purely stress and being very uncomfortable and in a very stressful environment, especially when it comes to relationships, can be very difficult.

“It actually took me by surprise having gone through it again at the beginning of last year.”

This was a big step back for Jessie, but she quickly sought professional help and guidance to regain a healthy weight and mindset.

He added: “I think what matters most is that I recovered very quickly and I want to make sure that other people don’t look at what they saw on TV and don’t see it as a role model either.”

Jessie said the Love Island production was absolutely incredible and she had one or two wellness meetings every day.

He added: “I think there were circumstances in the village where people were talking a lot about calories and that was triggering, but you know that’s what happens when you put yourself in an environment with a group of other people who aren’t aware of it”. How much damage these kinds of words can do.’

Despite having a tough time in the South African villa, Jessie found love on the winter 2023 series of the UK’s Love Island with boyfriend Will Young.

Jessie said: “Will, of course, has been very supportive of us since we came out, as has my family, even though they are on the other side of the world.”

Eating Disorders Awareness Week is a vital opportunity to raise awareness about eating disorders and this year runs from February 26 to March 3.

Jessie hopes that expressing her story will help educate people about eating disorders while destigmatizing seeking professional help.

She said: “I really want to make sure I’m a positive role model and help people avoid the mistakes I made.” I want people to understand that you are not alone in this, even if you feel alone.

‘There is no such thing as having to be sick or thin enough to experience this. “Anyone of any size can go through this and I think we all need to be there for each other and continue to raise awareness and break those stigmas.”

For help and advice on eating disorders, contact Beat Eating Disorders or text SHOUT to 85258.

Or contact SEED on (01482) 718130 or visit www.seedeatingdisorders.org.uk