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Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall opens up about being saddened by ‘self-hatred’ she felt 10 years ago

‘I feel sad knowing that version of myself in 2010 was so self conscious she felt the need to post publicly self deprecating herself,’ writes singer

Olivia Petter
Wednesday 01 January 2020 13:52 GMT
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Jade Thirlwall has opened up about being riddled with “self-hatred” in an Instagram post reflecting on how she has changed over the last decade.

The Little Mix singer shared a screenshot of a Facebook status she wrote in 2010 under the name Louise Ross in which she asked "Santa" for larger breasts and ”a body more toned than Nicole Scherzinger’s”.

Thirlwall, who would have been 17 at the time, also asked for help with the spot on her chin.

In the Instagram caption, Thirlwall explained how saddened she felt after reading her old post.

“Kinda funny but WOW the self hatred here!!” the 27-year-old wrote.

“I feel sad knowing that version of myself in 2010 was so self conscious she felt the need to post publicly self deprecating herself.

“Just recovering from anorexia and no idea I was about to be pummelled into an industry that feeds off this kinda negative s***.”

Thirlwall’s post has garnered a wave of support from her fans, with many people thanking her for her candour.

Body positivity activist Megan Jayne Crabbe commented: “You became the woman you needed when you were younger – that’s pretty spectacular bbygirl [sic]”.

Singer Jessie J added: "Amen!"

Thirlwall, who won The X Factor in 2011 alongside her Little Mix bandmates, has spoken out about her struggles with body image in the past.

Speaking on the BBC Sounds Life Hacks podcast last year, the musician revealed she suffered from an eating disorder in her teens, explaining that she "got to the point where she "just wanted to sort of waste away".

Thirlwall explained that therapy helped her to overcome the condition.

"It wasn’t until I had therapy about it that I realised anorexia was actually the devil on my shoulder," she said.

"That it wasn’t my friend. I really struggled to understand that at first, because I was so isolated and didn’t talk to anyone."

For information and support about eating disorders, go to the Beat website.

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