Model Amelia Gray Hamlin, youngest daughter of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills personality Lisa Rinna, revealed Saturday that she struggled with anorexia last year.
In a long Instagram post, the 16-year-old wrote that she decided to go public with her battle after fans continued to comment on her figure, comparing her physique now to times when she was thinner over the years.
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“Anyways, last year at this time there was no doubt that I was not okay,” she wrote. “Not only physically but also mentally. I feel like sometimes people forget that just because your job involves being in front of the camera, doesn’t mean you can’t have bad days. We’re human. All of us.”
“Instead of people ever commenting on my mental stability, people commented on my weight,” she continued. “Usually, when people are struggling with an eating disorder it stems from your mind, and your body is a reflection of it. I could go on and on about that time of my life, but the most important part about it was waking up one morning and deciding to stop sabotaging myself.”
Hamlin and her 19-year-old sister, Delilah Belle Hamlin, regularly appear in modeling spreads and advertisements, with Rinna comparing herself to Kris Jenner, whose daughter Kendall Jenner was named the highest-paid model of 2017.
“One in 200 women in the US suffer from anorexia. And I want to help. The first photo, taken today is not a photo of the perfect girl. That is a photo of me, trying to figure out my body, and owing my curves that I naturally have, and not forcing myself to starve them away,” Amelia continued on Instagram. “I have a lot of health complications after starving myself for so long so it’s going to be a journey that I go through for a large part of my life.”
Amelia was applauded for her honesty and courage for speaking out about her condition from a number of other famous daughters.
“This is so amazing,” Ava Sambora, Heather Locklear’s model daughter, wrote on Instagram, while Brooke Burke’s daughter, Neriah Fisher chimed in, “Proud of you angel.”
Amelia has also been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, a thyroid condition which can cause symptoms such as hair loss and weight gain. But she is working through it.
“I still have an extremely healthy life style and I workout so hard all week to maintain my Body. Not to say that recently being diagnosed with hashimotos has also been an extreme challenge for me to balance when still getting over this part of my life, but I am getting there,” she concluded. “One day at a time. I want to help.”
