Jackie Evancho has revealed she suffers from osteoporosis and has the bones of an 80-year-old due to a battle with anorexia.
The singer, now 22, finished runner-up on America's Got Talent as a 10-year-old in 2010.
And ahead of her ninth album release, she has candidly opened up on her secret battle with an eating disorder.
Speaking to People, the star told how she was hospitalised after breaking her back in two places in a car accident in January 2021.
She described how the breaks were "abnormal" and said they were more like something you'd see in an 80-year-old.
She said: "That's how I learned that my eating problems created osteoporosis. So now I'm a 22-year-old with osteoporosis."
Jackie went on to say she needed to eat for her bones to heal, but that caused her disorder to flare up.
"That really messed me up with my eating problems, because I was gaining weight to heal," she continued.
"Once I finally healed, my disorder said, 'OK, now you've got to be really hard on yourself to get all of that out of you . . . and then some.'"
She revealed she finally looked for help in October last year and checked into an inpatient facility and admits it's a work in progress.
Her battle with anorexia began when she was just 15-years-old after she noticed changes to her body due to puberty.
She admitted that this brought about unhealthy thoughts, saying: "I noticed that I looked a little bigger to myself, so I asked my mom, 'Do I look fat?' And she was like, 'No, no, that's just baby fat."
The comments led to her "mildly dieting" and working out, but she claimed she didn't see the desired result so took things more extreme.
Eventually, she found herself skipping food some days and realised it wasn't normal as she was left feeling exhausted, moody and tearful.
However, she soon "started to feel nothing" before seeking treatment aged 17.
At the age of 20, her eating disorder is said to have hit an all-time peak as "there weren't distractions during COVID".
She has now revealed that she is seeing a nutritionist and therapist, while also undergoing a type of psychotherapy.
And she hope that doing so will help her, despite insisting she's not healthy yet.
She added: "I'm still struggling, but I'm fighting, which is good because a year ago I was giving in to it completely, and that's so dark and painful."
Thanks to the treatment she has been able to implement healthy coping skills and better eating habits.
* You can talk in confidence to an adviser from eating disorders charity Beat by calling their adult helpline on 0808 801 0677 or youth helpline on 0808 801 0711.
