Kristin Davis ‘fainted’ from extreme workouts after Melrose Place producers told her not to ‘gain any weight’

Kristin Davis recalls being under so much pressure to stay thin while on the huge series that she “fainted” on set.

Kristin Davis said she was overexercising and eating less while being pressured to stay thin on Melrose Place.

The Sex and the City star told People magazine on Wednesday that she was instructed not to “gain any weight” after landing her big break as Brooke Armstrong in 1995.

While Davis had a great relationship with her co-stars, she admitted there “was a general vibe on the set though, that was difficult, about the thinness situation”.

“Every single person was gorgeous and super skinny,” the 59-year-old said. “So I was like, ‘This is what I have to do’”.

Kristin Davis played Brooke Armstrong on Melrose Place from 1995 to 1996.

Andrew Shue played her on-screen husband Billy.

Her insecurities were heightened after co-star Thomas Calabro told her producers had been talking about her weight.

“He’s like, ‘Kristin, I’m so happy to see you here,’” she recalled of Calabro joining her in the makeup trailer one day. “‘I just wanna tell you, you know, I think you look great”.

“And I’m like, ‘Oh, thank you. What are you talking about? What do you mean?’” she recalled.

“He said, ‘Oh, I know that the producers are really stressed, you know, but I just think it’s amazing that we have a woman who has curves’”.

Calabro, who played Dr Michael Mancini on the show, told Davis he hoped the producers didn’t “put too much pressure” on her.

However, up until then, Davis was unaware her body had been a topic of discussion among the higher-ups, who she confronted about their comments.

“I go to the line producer and I’m like, ‘Thomas Calabro just told me that you guys are stressing about my weight. Did someone say something? Did Mr [Aaron] Spelling say something?’ And he was like, ‘We think you look beautiful,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, and?’ He goes, ‘Just don’t gain any weight’”.

Davis has recalled there being a “thinness situation” on the set of the hit series. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Her Melrose Place co-star Thomas Calabro told her that producers had been talking about her weight behind the scenes. Picture: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Despite Calabro’s wishes, the pressure got to Davis. The actor revealed she hired a running coach and started taking back-to-back 90-minute spin classes.

Rather than fuel her body for the rigorous exercise, Davis said she also started limiting her intake.

“I was frustrated. I was trying to do the thing,” she said. “Of course, I’m sure I wasn’t eating, I have no idea. I don’t remember the eating part”.

The And Just Like That … star recalled feeling super light-headed one day and “faint[ing] in a parking lot”.

Davis (third from left) said she soon started dieting and exercising excessively to a point where she fainted on set from exhaustion.

Overworking her body also impacted the actor’ cognitive functions.

“Sometimes I couldn’t remember my name,” she admitted. “It was a lot”.

While Davis now realises how concerning the situation was, she said it was “just normal [back] then.”

“It was normal for a long time. You could look at it either way,” she said.

“But I mean, there was a lot of stress. If you had hips, it was a situation.”

However, after years of battling body image issues, Davis has come a long way on her journey to self-acceptance — despite living “in a really ageist society”.

Davis went on to star on Sex And The City and its spin-off And Just Like That … alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall.

“Finally I have come to accept and love my body shape — so rather than worrying about not being stick thin — I just do things I enjoy like yoga and pilates,” she told Woman magazine, reported the Daily Mail, in September 2023.

Davis has been very open about getting cosmetic enhancements in the past but noted that it’s “important” for women to “only get procedures done if we want to, and not because we feel pressure”.

The actor had her facial fillers dissolved in 2021 after being “ridiculed relentlessly” online — and now occasionally shows off her natural beauty with fresh-faced selfies.

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Kristin Davis ‘fainted’ from extreme workouts after Melrose Place producers told her not to ‘gain any weight’