Stephanie Pratt: “The Hills Made Me Bulimic”

The Hills actress Stephanie Pratt shares her shocking bulimia secret in the June 29th 2009 issue of US Weekly. According to the article, Stephanie started on the show in early 2008 at 5′7 and 108 pounds, but was so intimidated by her “thinner” costars that she began making herself throw up every day from June-August 2008. In between purging, she went on wild binges and generally suffered from self-hate.

Here are some highlights from the article!

Q: What made you worry about your weight?

A: There was a scene where I was sitting in class with Lauren [Conrad] and I was wearing a blue and white striped cashmere shirt. Seeing that episode, I was horrified. I remember saying, “I cannot believe how huge I look walking over to Lauren,” even though I was a size 0 or 2.
Q: What happened?

A: I was so consumed with my weight and my depression about being She-Pratt on the show. [...] I started eating my emotions. I would go to California Pizza Kitchen and get macaroni and cheese off the kids’ menu. I’d also eat pizza, grilled cheese, fries with ranch dressing. Really good junk food.
Q: What was a typical day?

A: I would wake up in a good mood and I would try to “eat thin.” I would drink a spoonful of balsamic vinegar, thinking it would make me not hungry, and then I would drink water with cayenne pepper. And then I would read some blog and it would say, “Why is She-Pratt on the show?” I felt so bad about how people responded to me that the lettuce and vinegar thing was out and I was ordering pizza. ‘The Hills’ crew would be coming over, and I’d make another run to the corner to Cafe Vida and get grilled cheese and french fries. The crew would be sitting down by my front door and I’d be sitting in my room, stuffing it down, not even tasting it. And then I’d go and throw up and I’d let them in while I was brushing my teeth. It was the only thing that felt good.
Q: Why did you do it?

A: [...] Growing up, I was always super-skinny, a size 24 or 25 waist. I would get stopped in the streets. They would say, “You’re so skinny. Are you a model?” To keep that attention I made sure I never gained weight.
Q: That affected how you saw yourself on TV?

A: I was called the fat girl on The Hills. A lot of the blogs would say, “She needs to do squats.” “Quit The Hills, get to a gym.” [...] I felt insecure next to Audrina and Heidi, the girls I’m with the most. The producers never put pressure on us to lose weight, but i put it on myself because we were always having pool parties. When we filmed in Hawaii, I remember taking off my shirt and asking Audrina, “What looks better? Shirt on or off?” and she said “On.”
Q: How are you focusing on being healthy now?

A: I did a food-delivery service, Freshology, for two months that had 1110 to 1200 calories a day. It definitely got me healthy. Now I’m eating eggs, sushi, edamame, reduced-fat string cheese. [...] Now I do spinning once a week at Equinox. I do the elliptical for 30 minutes when I’m home, once or twice a week. I walk my dog every day and also ride horseback.

Wow… that is quite a confession!

It sounds like she is now on a very low fat/low carb/low calorie diet, which some would argue isn’t very healthy either.
So what do you all think?! Do you think she’s being truthful or is this simply yet another publicity stunt for the show? I hope that if she is truly suffering from an ED that she gets the real help she needs and not just another diet plan!