Shorty star Courtenay tells 'MY BATTLE WITH BINGE EATING'

Courtenay Louise reveals how returning to Aotearoa ended her painful struggle with an eating disorder

- CLOE WILLETTS

Sitting in front of a mirror at New Zealand Fashion Week eight years ago, former model Courtenay Louise looked the picture of beauty, but inside, the Shortland Street actress felt worthless.

"I'd left the house feeling really excited, but when I got to the venue and saw all the others girls, I suddenly felt huge," recalls Courtenay, 28, who plays model Monique Strutter on the TVNZ 2 drama. "I remember just hating myself. I felt I didn't deserve to be there. It was the beginning of a long eating-disorder journey."

Today, Auckland-based Courtenay has overcome the devastating illness, which saw her spiral through starvation and over-exercise, to binge eating and purging.

"I want to share my story because there are so many other people going through this, especially in a time when social media is shoving edited bikini photos down people's throats," she tells Woman's Day.

"I've seen how truly consuming and isolating eating disorders can be. I hope people who are struggling with body image can read this, know they're not alone and hopefully muster up the courage to ask for help."

Growing up, Courtenay was a confident kid who was often complimented on her petite frame. "I could hear the envy in their voices, which gave me the mentality I needed to be skinny," she recalls, adding that she could eat whatever she liked without putting on weight, which adults warned would catch up on her one day.