‘My eyes have opened’: the news that changed Abbie Chatfield’s life
Abbie Chatfield’s life turned upside down after one long-awaited conversation. Here’s why she’ll never look back.
Stellar
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stellar. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There isn’t much that’s off-limits for former The Bachelor favourite turned all-round media mogul Abbie Chatfield.
The popular presenter and podcast star has made a career out of speaking her mind – and talking about topics that might have previously been considered taboo.
But there is one that Chatfield doesn’t think should be up for public debate – and that’s a person’s weight.
“Either way, people on Instagram love to tell me when my own body is changing, as though I don’t have a mirror,” Chatfield says.
“Weight loss happens because of a myriad of things... I am very, very proud of my relationship with food and exercise.
“I don’t think it’s anyone’s business why someone might have lost weight, unless they express it themselves without being prompted. It doesn’t affect anybody else.”
And besides, there’s plenty about Chatfield’s life that she is happy to make everybody else’s
business – and she shares it across a range of projects.
In the past 12 months, she hosted her radio show Hot Nights With Abbie Chatfield, her It’s A Lot With Abbie Chatfield podcast, and embarked on a live tour. She also nabbed a role as a judge on The Masked Singer, launched her Verbose The Label fashion line and her own beer.
Now she’s set to host the Binge reality series FBoy Island, that will air later this year.
“I don’t really see myself as a role model... I often do things without thinking,” Chatfield
tells Stellar In Summer. “It’s interesting when people say they look up to me.
“All my friends are so similar to me... I am someone’s role model but, really, all my friends combined are the role models for me.”
However, with success comes scrutiny – and Chatfield admits she is now used to this side of fame.
“The Bachelor was a very, very intense baptism of fire. I was a nobody and then I got trolled and death threats,” recalls the 27-year-old. “I am so used to it now that it doesn’t affect me that much.”
Case in point: Chatfield was criticised for speaking out about her personal ADHD diagnosis last year.
“[The criticism] really triggered me and it set me off as a lot of... women, in particular, with ADHD are told it’s ‘not real’ and it takes ages to be diagnosed.”
Of receiving clarity over her ADHD, Chatfield explains, “I was misdiagnosed with anxiety and depression for years. My eyes have opened. It has changed my life in so many ways.
“Suddenly, I’m on [the right] medication. My anxiety went, hyper-fixations went and I realised that I’m not an obsessive, weird person – I’m not lacking something.
“I was speaking about it from a place [where] I really thought about it. If I get into sh*t about something that I really do believe in, it doesn’t bother me as much.”
Hot Nights With Abbie Chatfield returns on January 16 on the Hit Network. It’s A Lot With Abbie Chatfield is available on LiSTNR.
Originally published as ‘My eyes have opened’: the news that changed Abbie Chatfield’s life
Star of Aussie reboot of The Office answers critics
Felicity Ward, who healms the Australian version of The Office, explains why she was expecting an ‘extra-aggressive reaction’ to the spin-off of the hit comedy because she is a woman.
Exclusive: Firerose on marriage to Billy Ray Cyrus
Speaking for the first time since her headline-making divorce from Billy Ray Cyrus, Australian singer Firerose explains how their difficult relationship left her ‘scared’ and ‘devastatingly withdrawn’.