Geri Halliwell has opened up about her battle with bulimia on Oprah: Where Are They Now?, revealing that during her time in the Spice Girls she grew so self-conscious of her figure that she developed an eating disorder, calling her desire to control her weight a "coping mechanism" for her new found fame.
In the interview, the 44-year-old spoke about the Spice Girls incredible success and how being in the spotlight created problems with her body image. She said: "You know, I think one of the challenging aspects is the scrutiny being in the glare of the spotlight. I think I felt much more conscious of myself, my body weight. All the things that everybody goes normally goes through, but a heightened version.
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Geri opened up about growing up in the spotlight
"We all used different tools to get by, coping mechanisms. For me [it] was controlling my body weight and/or abusing food."
The star admitted she was either eating too much or on a strict diet, but no one noticed as "your body weight stays pretty much the same."
The star revealed that she recovered from her eating disorder after attending meetings and is now a keen baker. Not only did she win Great Sport Relief Bake Off earlier in the year, but the singer also made poppy-themed cupcakes to celebrate the Queen's birthday back in May as part of HELLO! magazine's partnership with the Royal British Legion. She also regularly shares photos and videos of herself baking on Instagram, and revealed to Mail Online that baking helped her relationship with food.
Geri is now a keen baker
She said: "Throughout my 20s, I had bulimia. Even when I’d recovered from it, I had a distant relationship with food. I wanted to be a healthy example for my daughter, so I tried to have balance.
"But to bake properly and celebrate cake rather than run from it was such a landmark for me. The creativity of baking something is like writing a song; it’s a mood-changer."
