I’m a former NFL cheerleader – I felt famous when I wore the uniform, it gave me status but I worried about fake friends

A FORMER NFL cheerleader has revealed the roller coaster ride of emotions and doubt that wearing her uniform put her through.

Hannah LeBeau said that she felt famous when she wore her New England Patriots uniform in an exclusive interview.

Hannah LeBeau is a former NFL New England Patriots cheerleaderTikTok/hannahlebeau_

Since retiring, Hannah has grown a lot and become very candid about her NFL journeyInstagram/@hannahlebeau_

Hannah cheered for the NFL football team starting at the age of 20 between 2013 and 2017.

Since retiring, she has been very candid on her TikTok page about the mental and physical struggles that she faced, including battling an eating disorder and having extreme anxiety while cheering.

She also previously said that she felt “Hannah Montana famous” when she was working.

“Being in the uniform and being on the field, I built a decent fan base who knew who I was,” Hannah further explained to The U.S. Sun.

“There were people who knew me in the uniform, but I guarantee that if they saw me on the street or in the grocery store, they would have no idea who I was,” she added.

Hannah was paralleling herself to the TV character Hannah Montana, played by Miley Cyrus, who lived a double life as a normal teenager and as her alter ego, an international pop star.

And like how the character wore a bleach blonde wig to cover her natural brunette hair, Hannah also dyed her hair platinum blonde when she cheered.

This sparked the cheerleader’s concerns over how she was perceived and who she could trust.

“The only time I felt like myself on that team is when I was dancing,” she said, adding: “Everything else – I didn’t know who I was. That’s where the identity crisis came in.”

“Do people only like me for being in the uniform? Or am I of value and worthy just as Hannah, not as an NFL cheerleader?” she often asked herself regarding her career status.

Courtesy Hannah LeBeauHannah felt ‘Hannah Montana famous’ when she wore her cheerleading uniform[/caption]

Hannah explained that when it came to the point of retiring, she needed to learn who she was outside of being a cheerleader because previously, she got “so much validation in the uniform and on social media.”

“The hardest thing was trying to figure out if I had any worth being a normal person,” she said.

When she retired, she moved to Nashville and picked up different jobs while trying to re-discover herself.

Hannah became a residential counselor at an eating disorder recovery facility while she was still battling and overcoming her own disorder. 

She also worked as a waitress and bartender, which helped her evolve.

The last game Hannah (right) performed at was the 2017 Super Bowl when the New England Patriots wonCourtesy Hannah LeBeau

“I went for all the wrong reasons. I was just running away from everything I didn’t want to face,” she acknowledged, but added that luckily, she started to healthily gain weight and started making new friends.

“I made a group of friends and they didn’t know anything about me,” she said, relieved.

“I think it was really crucial for my self-growth and self-awareness for me to realize I’m a human outside of the uniform and that I’m likeable,” she added.

In addition to coming to the realization that she was worthy of love and respect when she wasn’t wearing her cheer uniform, Hannah could also stop worrying about attracting fake friends.

Now that she feels more like herself, Hannah added: “I don’t miss how I valued my self-worth off of that uniform and off of that team.”

Hannah felt like herself when she danced, but wearing her uniform sparked an identity crisisCourtesy Hannah LeBeau

Today, Hannah is much more happy, healthy, and confident in who she isTikTok/hannahlebeau_