Robbie Williams reveals heartbreaking truth about recent weight loss: ‘Pure self-hatred’

Robbie Williams earned praise for his appearance in a picture posted by his wife – but he’s now revealed the heartbreaking truth behind it.

Robbie Williams has opened up about his battle with body dysmorphia in a devastatingly honest new social media post, describing it as a “f**king disaster”.

The former Take That member-turned-successful solo artist, 49, shared a lengthy Instagram message to his 2.7 million followers about his weight struggles after fans reacted to his recently slimmed-down frame.

Williams has lost a lot of weight recently. Picture: Instagram

He has been open about his body struggles in the past. Picture: Supplied

The candid caption was attached to a cartoon image of two characters, where one tells the other that “it’s gone too far” to which the other replies, “Aw, bless you.”

Above it are the words: “My ideal goal weight is people being worried about me.”

The British singer then opened up in the caption about his “pure self-hatred”.

“So, if a genie appeared and said, ‘You can either have your super power be the ability to fly or eat what you want and remain at your goal weight?’ I would go for goal weight eating every day. What about you?” Williams asked his followers.

“I could write a book about self-loathing where my body image is concerned. Like pure self-hatred, the ugliness of feeling ugly.

“I’m body dysmorphic and on top of being dysmorphic, at times I can be 40+ pounds (18kgs) overweight. So you can imagine what my mine sees. Or maybe you can’t, either way it’s a **king disaster.”

Williams and his wife, Ayda Field. Picture: WPA Pool/Getty

The father-of-four pointed to his recent weight loss, admitting that his current size isn’t making him happy, either.

“At the moment I’m skinny. But me being me, my mind is going, ‘F**king great Rob, you managed to get skinny and now your (sic) old, congrats, golf clap’.

“The struggle is real. The sadness shocking. I’ve had it all my life. And it won’t abate.”

Williams then asked: “What is it that is hardwired in us, that is so calloused, that makes self-acceptance and self-love so difficult that it seems impossible?”

He finished up by insisting he wasn’t “fishing for compliments” but sharing his story “for some sort of release.”

“And if someone else recognises themselves in the words I’ve written, maybe it helps both of us,” Williams wrote.

Williams’ post was very raw. Picture: Instagram

Singer Paloma Faith offered her support, in one of the top-rated comments on the post.

“I’m exactly the same …. Sometimes when I see photos of me and im slim I can’t believe it and assume they have been photoshopped because in my mind im ALWAYS over weight and it’s exhausting. I wish I could be body positive but alas I’m just body negative and I’ve had two babies,” she wrote.

The Angels singer’s wife, Ayda Field, has previously spoken about the effect fellow British star Noel Gallagher’s infamously brutal description of him as “the fat dancer from Take That” had on his self-esteem.

“That sucks,” she admitted.

Williams performing at the Heartland Festival in Kvaerndrup, Denmark last month. Picture: Tim Kildeborg Jensen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP

Meanwhile, Williams has spoken candidly in the past about his lifetime battle with addictions – especially “sugar” – admitting to The Sun last year that it’s a “constant fight”.

“I have lost weight but it is a constant fight. Inside me there’s a giant person,” he said.

“My whole being and my whole body wants me to go in the opposite direction and be morbidly obese.

“At the moment I am just eating less. It is a constant slog and it is not a natural way of being. For me, what is normal is being twice this size.”

Williams also told The Sun that he struggles with maintaining his health.

“There is no balance – moderation doesn’t exist. I do not have the ability to make that happen. It is either fat or thin.”