Lauren Alaina Opens Up About Battling an Eating Disorder on 'American Idol'

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Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit

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American Idol Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina recently opened up about her past experience with an eating disorder. The singer shared how the public scrutiny she faced as a teenager on television affected her.

Lauren Alaina Opens Up About Eating Disorder

During an appearance on Hannah Brown’s podcast Better Tomorrow, Alaina said she struggled with an eating disorder as far back as middle school. She was just 16 when she appeared on Season 10 of American Idol, calling it her “very awkward, chubby phase.”

“People commented a lot on my weight… What kind of evil humans can comment on a 16-year-old child is beyond me now. But as that 16-year-old child, it got very bad for a while,” Alaina said, according to People, adding that she “lost who I was completely.”

Alaina recalled a blog adding a pig nose to her photo and calling her “Miss Piggy.” The singer said that while she’s always been confident performing on stage, she’s never felt confident about her weight. Even as she finished Idol in second place, she continued to struggle.

“It was an extreme high and an extreme low and I got sick… I struggled very, very bad with bulimia for a very long time,” Alaina shared. She eventually sought out-patient treatment for the issue.

SEE ALSO: LAUREN ALAINA TO APPEAR AS SPECIAL GUEST ON PENTATONIX WORLD TOUR

DWTS Prompted Alaina to Return to Therapy

Alaina competed on Season 28 of Dancing with the Stars in 2019. She shared that although she “had been in complete remission for years” for her eating disorder, the prospect of appearing on television again prompted her to return to therapy.

“I immediately was like, I gotta call the therapist. I gotta call her, and get in there, because I can’t let myself get back to that place again,” Alaina told Brown. “And it would have happened, probably. Most likely. If I had not addressed it and asked for help.”

Alaina is currently joining Pentatonix on tour, and she recently released an EP called Unlocked. Last month, the 28-year-old put out a new single called “Just Wanna Know That You Love Me.”

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