Love Island star Gabby opens up about her private battle
In an exclusive chat, bubbly brunette Gabby shares the raw truth about her G-cup boobs and why people online need to think twice before commenting.
When you sign up to be on a reality TV show, you completely expect to be put under the spotlight.
But for Love Island Australia contestant Gabby McCarthy, the attention she is receiving throughout the current series sometimes stings a little.
“Watching the show back is just a very unusual experience... heaps of emotions. One day I am alright and then the next... It’s emotional,” she told news.com.au.
“Overall I am holding myself together well considering there’s numerous videos and articles and comment sections that you can read about yourself that are just full of hate.”
The 21-year-old influencer-turned reality TV starlet is of course referring to chatter about her much-talked about G-cup breasts.
They’ve been poked, prodded and endlessly scrutinised in the villa and the chatter hasn’t stopped offline, with critics branding her a liar for insisting they’re 100% real.
It’s a narrative Gabby puts a brave face to but deep down doesn’t care for.
“It’s hard having to see such strong opinions on the internet about a 21 year-old girl’s natural body. I have had problems with my body image my whole life, so just being torn to shreds [people saying] she’s a liar... it’s just awful,” she revealed.
“I’ve also struggled with an eating disorder my whole teenage years so my boobs and my body were constantly fluctuating. After the show I’ll go get an X-ray to show everyone that my boobs are real!”
The hardest part about the constant public chatter is the fact that none of it is anything that Gabby hasn’t already heard in her own head.
“I’ve struggled with having big boobs mentally my whole life. I was 15 years old going to every doctor I could to try and get a boob reduction because I was so insecure. I did anything I could to make them look smaller,” she admitted.
“I grew up in theatre, I grew up dancing, singing, acting - all high-pressure environments where everything is about what you’re putting into your body what you look like and yeah, I did develop an eating disorder from probably about seven years old. I was super young.”
Gabby says her personal struggles at home didn’t help with her eating disorder, which spanned 10 years.
“I had a lot of stuff in my family happening growing up and I definitely felt a bit neglected and not loved at times. My mental health [suffered] which caused me to have an eating disorder for at least 10 years,” she remembered.
“I was always judged in school - I was just getting more and more insecure because more people were just talking about my body.”
Thankfully, Gabby sought help with a strong support network around her and has now found herself in a place of love for her body.
“I’ve worked on myself a lot the last couple of years and I just grew to love myself,” she said.
“I think I just had friends that were like, ‘no you need to love yourself, people pay for them’ and all that. It really helped me to love my body and understand that I’m different.”
Someone who has embraced the Love Island bombshell exactly as she is, is her villa love interest Jotham, the one man Gabby has managed to forge a deep connection with on the show.
“I am feeling so lucky to have met Jotham. I’ve never really been with a nice guy before. I’ve always been with crazy, toxic, full-on men so he’s definitely bringing out a soft side to me. I hype him up and he really calms me down,” Gabby says of her beau.
But with a shake-up coming this week with new girls added to the group, Gabby hints drama is brewing.
“Everyone’s loved up at the moment - I think [it] will take a quick turn with all that,” she hints.
“I’m definitely sweet and bubbly and caring and kind - until my buttons are pushed. I definitely have a crazy side where I stand up for myself and I’m not scared of confrontation.”
Originally published as Love Island star Gabby opens up about her private battle
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