'Real World' Star Violetta Milerman Reveals Struggles With Anorexia and Bulimia
"I'm not ashamed of it, so I never wanted to hide it," she said.
— -- "Real World: Skeletons" star Violetta Milerman revealed her ongoing battles with anorexia and bulimia on this week's show in order to influence and help others.
Before the show, Milerman, 24, spoke to Cosmopolitan.com about dealing with the disease for four years and why she decided to speak up.
"I'm not ashamed of it, so I never wanted to hide it," she told the site. "But I'd been doing really well. Coming into the house, my eating disorder wasn't a problem. But after being there for so long, and just going through the stress of it, it just became so overwhelming, and I started to lose faith in who I was.
"With me, it's a control thing," she added. "The reason I do it is because something is happening in my life that I can't control. And I need that feeling of control. But I didn't voluntarily bring this up in the house."
She also touched on how her roommates took the news.
"I think everyone in the house kind of had an idea already," she said. "I mean, it's pretty obvious if you're binging and purging between meals when you're living with people full-time. At the same time, I think no one really expected it to be brought up."
Milerman said she has a therapist who is aware she has a problem.
"There's nothing anyone could ever tell me that would be like, 'You're normal,' because I know I'm not," she said. "At the same time, my therapist is a wonderful lady. She's helped me a lot. As much as I appreciate her, my friends have been just as important. My girlfriend is the one who told me I should seek help."
In the end, the reality star is completely fine with this personal problem being seen on national TV. In fact, "If anyone reads this and doesn't know who to talk to or doesn't feel like she can express herself, they can DM me on my Instagram and I will answer it, because the best thing I can do now is help others."
"I absolutely love myself," she said. "Maybe more than I should. If I was scared of it, that would mean I'm ashamed of it, and I'm not. The only thing I can do now, the best thing I can do, is to help others. I didn't know I had an eating disorder because I wasn't educated about it until it was a little too late. Knowing that other girls are going through this, I don't ever want someone to feel alone, because that's how I felt at first."
