Riverdale’s Camila Mendes Opens Up About Her Battle With Bulimia and Her Body-Positive Icon

Camila Mendes has been candid about her struggles with her body image in the past, and now the Riverdale star is sharing more about how she overcame an eating disorder and who she looks up to as a body-positive icon.

“I’ve struggled with bulimia,” the 24-year-old said in the new issue of Shape, revealing that the eating disorder was most prevalent in high school, college, and when she started working in the entertainment industry.

“I had such an emotional relationship with food and anxiety about everything I put into my body,” she continued. “I was so scared of carbs that I wouldn’t let myself eat bread or rice ever. … If I ate a sweet, I would be like, ‘Oh my God, I’m not going to eat for five hours now.’ I was always punishing myself.”

About a year ago, she decided she needed help and sought out a therapist, who also recommended a nutritionist. “Seeing both of them changed my life,” Mendes said. “So much of the anxiety I had about food went away when I started learning more about nutrition. … I was always on some kind of weird diet, but I haven’t been on one since. I’m very proud of myself.”

Both Mendes and her Riverdale costar Lili Reinhart are vocal advocates of body positivity, using their social media platforms to shut down unfair beauty standards and expectations on women. Mendes also told Shape that the current body-positivity movement helped her accept herself for who she is.

“It’s helping me so much,” she said. “I’m seeing all these people who I look up to, like Rihanna, open up about their weight fluctuations and loving themselves the way they are. That makes me love myself more too.”

What do you think about Camila Mendes’ openness about her body image struggles? Let us know @BritandCo.

(photo via Theo Wargo/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows)