‘500 calories a day’: The Bachelor’s Juliette Herrera reveals anorexia battle
Former Bachelor contestant Juliette Herrera has opened up about her life-threatening anorexia battle, which saw her consume just 500 calories a day.
Confidential
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Former Bachelor contestant Juliette Herrera has opened up about her private health battle.
The Surry Hills stylist struggled with an eating disorder prior to her stint on Locky Gilbert’s season last year and she hopes that sharing her story will help others.
“I struggled with anorexia for 10 years,” she told Confidential.
“I used to work for fashion magazines so I was always self-conscious about my weight. I became obsessed with losing weight and I could never enjoy food. I started calorie counting and would survive on 500 calories a day and workout for two hours. I was skeletal and at one point I went down to 43kg.”
Herrera, 35, said the pressure she felt to be thin began when she was 22 while working for Cleo and Dolly magazines.
As a young woman of South American descent, she struggled with impossible beauty standards.
She also suffered anxiety and depression which stemmed from watching the decline of her late father, former sports writer Phillip Herrera, who had motor neurone disease.
“My father passed away in 2015 and I wasn’t functioning,” she said.
“I lost my job and everything fell apart. I realised, ‘Wow, I’m skinny and not happy’. I felt dead inside. I hadn’t had a relationship for over 10 years.
“I wanted to kill myself so I knew I needed help. I went to hospital and got professional help. My faith in God helped me overcome all of that.”
While the former reality TV star’s eating disorder is an ongoing battle, she has been healthy and happy for two years.
She is now launching a YouTube channel which is dedicated to covering mental health matters and she has advice for others who may be struggling.
“You’re never going to be perfect,” she said.
“Don’t waste your life striving for physical perfection because it’s never going to be enough.
“Put more value on the quality of the person you are inside because looks fade.”
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