Tess Holliday reveals she is anorexic: Plus-size model says she is 'healing from an eating disorder' after years of 'punishing her body'

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Tess Holliday has revealed that she is 'anorexic and in recovery' after decades of struggling with body image and backlash over her weight. 

The 35-year-old, who found fame as a plus-size model and a body-positivity activist, took to social media over the weekend to open up about her eating disorder in response to her growing frustration with people commenting on her weight and health. 

'I’m anorexic and in recovery. I’m not ashamed to say it out loud anymore,' she tweeted. 'I’m the result of a culture that celebrates thinness and equates that to worth, but I get to write my own narrative now. I’m finally able to care for a body that I’ve punished my entire life and I am finally free.'

Opening up: Tess Holliday, 35, has revealed she is 'anorexic and in recovery' while sharing several selfies on Instagram 

Candid: The plus-size model said she is 'not ashamed' to say that she has an eating disorder out loud anymore

Honest: Tess tweeted about her eating disorder on Saturday, saying she is the 'result of a culture that celebrates thinness'

The body-positivity activist explained in another post shared on Instagram that she has lost weight while healing from her eating disorder and has been inundated with people encouraging her to lose more.   

'To everyone that keeps saying “you’re looking healthy lately” or “You are losing weight, keep it up!” Stop. Don’t. Comment. On. My. Weight. Or. Perceived. Health. Keep. It. To. Yourself. Thanks,' she wrote.  

'I’m healing from an eating disorder and feeding my body regularly for the first time in my entire life,' she noted. 

'When you equate weight loss with “health” and place value and worth on someone’s size, you are basically saying that we are more valuable now because we are smaller and perpetuating diet culture… and that’s corny as hell. NOT here for it.'

Triggering: The plus-size model warned people on Twitter and Instagram to keep their comments about her weight to themselves 

Happy: The body-positivity activist, pictured in March, said she is now able to 'care for' for the body she 'punished' her entire life and is 'finally free'

Damaging: Tess, pictured earlier this month, shared that she she lost weight while healing from her eating disorder and people have been encouraging her to lose more

The mother of two added that people's positive comments about her weight loss are triggering to both her and others.  

'For folks like me that are trying to reframe our relationships with our bodies and heal, hearing comments about weight is triggering as hell,' she said. 

'It sets us back in our progress — and when people working on themselves see you commenting to me that way, it hurts THEM, not just me. I can take it (I shouldn’t have to, but I can) but they didn’t ask for that trauma, ok?'

Tess ended her post with a warning, saying: 'If you can’t tell someone they look nice without making it about their size, then baby, please don’t say nuthin at all.'

The social media star received plenty of messages of support from fans, inspiring some to open up about their own eating disorders. 

Hard to handle: The model, pictured in July 2020, has spent decades of struggling with body image and backlash over her weight

Truth: 'For folks like me that are trying to reframe our relationships with our bodies and heal, hearing comments about weight is triggering as hell,' said Tess, pictured in October 2020

Social media star: Tess, pictured in November 2020, has more than 2.1 million Instagram followers

'Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Over the last 2 years, encouraged by an ex I’ve been for the most part starving myself,' one person commented. 'I went from 380 to 240 but everyone made it a positive thing I’d didn’t realize it could be a problem.'

'Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying this. I am as well,' another shared. 'However not being a skinny-minnie has me all wrapped up in my head about it. So hard to describe how it feels. I have a good friend who applauds me when I finish just a sandwich.'

Despite the positive comments and support she received, there were those who questioned her eating disorder. 

'Not the "but your fat how are you anorexic" comments [six],' she tweeted. 'Y'all don't know how science & body works huh. 

'My technical diagnosis is anorexia nervosa and yes, I'm still not ashamed. I'm too damn happy for y'all to even come close to dimming my shine.' 

She added: 'To everyone saying that I can't possibly love myself and have an eating disorder, that is the actual definition of loving myself. Being able to prioritize myself & to be in recovery. I'm more self-aware than any of my critics but you know, y'all go off.'

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by weight loss, a fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image, according to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). 

People with anorexia generally restrict their calories and types of foods they eat. They may also 'exercise compulsively, purge via vomiting and laxatives, and/or binge eat.' 

While anorexia is typically associated with low body weight, studies have found that people with larger bodies can also have anorexia. 

Atypical anorexia nervosa was formally recognized in 2013 and is diagnosed in patients who don't have the usual low body weight synonymous with the disorder. 

Looking back: Tess is pictured on the red carpet at the Grammys in January 2020 

Looking back: The mother of two, who is pictured voting in November, has also been candid about her struggles with depression and anxiety

Boudoir shoot: Tess, pictured in August 2020, is known for sharing racy photos of herself online. In a recent tweet, she insisted that she can have anorexia and still love herself 

NEDA noted that larger-bodied individuals struggling with the eating disorder 'may be less likely to be diagnosed due to cultural prejudice against fat and obesity.' 

Tess, who has more than 2.1 million Instagram followers, has been also been open with her fans about her struggles with anxiety and depression as well as the dissolution of her marriage.  

In October 2020, she announced that she and her husband of five years, Nick Holliday, split following the photographer's move to his native Australia the year before.   

She confirmed their breakup on Instagram when she shared a topless photo of herself posing in a bathroom in Ojai, Californiaa, writing: 'Cut a boy off and my checks got bigger.'   

Just days after she revealed they were headed for a divorce, she slammed Nick online, branding him an absentee father and an 'abusive narcissist' while accusing him of gaslighting her.  

Over: Tess announced last year that she had her husband of five years, Nick Holliday, had split. They're pictured in February 2018 

Big news: She confirmed their split in late October while sharing a topless selfie, writing: 'Cut a boy off and my checks got bigger'

Happier times: Tess and Nick secretly wed in a Las Vegas chapel in 2015 (pictured). Following their split, she branded him an absentee father and an 'abusive narcissist'

'Of course Trump and my ex are both Geminis, both abusive narcissists who make me question my own reality,' Tess tweeted the day before the 2020 presidential election.   

Tess and Nick share a four-year-old son Bowie, and she also has a 15-year-old son Rylee from a previous relationship. 

When a fan warned her about the dangers of publicly bashing her child's father, Tess claimed she has been raising their son by herself.     

In July 2019, Tess came out as pansexual and said she would be open to a relationship with a woman. At the time, she was in a monogamous heterosexual marriage with Nick, who describes himself as a 'queer dad' on his Instagram bio.

The influencer alluded to problems in their relationship in an interview with Parents that was featured in the magazine's January issue. 

Tess shared that she and Nick were living apart, saying he had been 'working on himself' in his native Australia since September 2019. However, she declined to comment on their relationship status.