Camila Mendes has spoken candidly about her experience of dealing with an eating dirorder while filming season one of teen drama Riverdale.
The 28-year-old actor revealed that insecurity around her body image hit a peak during that time and described how she would “take myself apart” when rewatching her performance on the first season in 2017.
In an appearance on the Going Mental podcast with Eileen Kelly, the Do Revenge star said: “I would watch every episode and be like, ‘Oh my god, my stomach there…’ I was so insecure and it really fuelled my eating disorder.
“When you’re in your early twenties, your body is fluctuating… my body hadn’t settled into itself yet. I was looking at myself, taking myself apart. My stomach, you know, my arms, my chin, anything – I would obsess over.”
Riverdale first premiered when Mendes was 22 years old. Now, aged 28, she reflected on how being consumed by her appearance “kind of got in the way of my acting” because “it really f***s with your process”.
Mendes admitted that she was “really afraid” of eating certain foods, such as carbs, and enlisted the advice of a nutritionist to help her get rid of these fears.
“What would happen is I would avoid [carbs] for a long period of time and then I would binge and eat a bunch and then purge,” she explained.
“So it was this terrible cycle. [My nutritionist] helped me overcome that by reintroducing bread into my life to be like, ‘See, it’s not going to kill you’.”
Mendes also said that hearing certain phrases about her looks are triggers that impact her recovery from disordered eating, such as the phrase: “You look so good” after losing some weight.
“When I don’t hear that, I think I look terrible,” she said. “When no one’s commenting on how thin I look.”
Mendes first began speaking publicly about her experience with bulimia and her journey to recovery in 2019.
In an interview with Women’s Health magazine, she said: “I’ve only recently kind of gotten better. It’s something that’s still a curse to me. It’s not like that ever goes away.”
She added that she turned to professionals to aid in her recovery and said: “I couldn’t have done that alone. I needed professionals who I trusted to tell me things that I didn’t know before.”
For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this article, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677.
NCFED offers information, resources and counselling for those suffering from eating disorders, as well as their support networks. Visit eating-disorders.org.uk or call 0845 838 2040.
