The Traitors star Alex Gray opens up about eating disorder battle after suffering from bulimia: ‘I lost complete control’-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro

Alex has shared an emotional post about her eating disorder struggle (Picture: BBC)

The Traitors star Alex Gray has shared an emotional post opening up about her recovery from bulimia, and the side effects she faced as her health deteriorated.

Alex almost made it to the very end of Claudia Winkleman’s hit BBC One game show, which saw Faithfuls Aaron Evans, Meryl Williams and Hannah Byczkowski win the £101,050 jackpot after banishing the ultimate Traitor Wilfred Webster.

Shortly before, Wilf had tried to recruit Alex to join him as a mole, however, she turned the offer down and was banished around the roundtable.

The series saw Alex and boyfriend Tom Elderfield stun their co-stars with the revalation that they had been dating before the show, but kept their romance a secret from the other players as a part of their ‘game plan’.

Since the series has aired, Alex has spoken candidly about her health on social media, informing others about autoimmune diseases and now sharing a reflective post on bulimia.

Alex shared tearful pictures showing her hair loss and other side effects (Picture: Alex Gray)

She spoke about suffering from the eating disorder since the age of 17 (Picture: Alex Gray)

The 26-year-old wrote: ‘From the age of 17 I suffered in silence with an eating disorder that ended up progressing into bulimia when I was 22.

‘For 2 years I would be secretly binging, as I had no control over myself when I was around food.

‘I was ashamed and embarrassed, but more importantly at the time I was distressed that I’d lost complete control.

‘This culminated in throwing up, as it was the only way i thought I was able to counteract the large amounts of food I would consume in one sitting.’

She continued: ‘During those 2 years, my health completely deteriorated but I was in denial that bulimia had caused it… because I didn’t talk to anyone about what I was doing, no one was able to help me.

‘There was no one who I knew going through the same thing that I was able to confide in, and I naively believed that making myself sick wasn’t going to have any negative effect on my health

‘Boy was I wrong. And boy did I wish I had someone shake me and wake me up to the detriment I was causing to my body and mind.’

Alex was eventually banished from The Traitors (Picture: BBC)

Alex wrote in the post that it had been three years since the last time ‘I ever made myself throw up,’ but she still continues to deal with the physical fall-out, as she identified some of the side effects that she battled.

‘Your salivary glands will SWELL and will be swollen for a VERY long time even after you stop being sick. I’m talking months, if not years,’ she began the thread, followed by highlighting that ‘”chipmunk face” is real’.

Alex went on to explain that ‘uncomfortable’ bloating occurred, the ‘serious stress’ affected her period and hormone levels, and her teeth became ‘very translucent and thin’ due to the acid.

In another picture, Alex looked visibly upset and pointed out that she suffered from hair loss, writing: ‘The same goes for your hair. Mine would come out in CLUMPS in the shower. I lost over half the thickness of my hair in a year’.

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One picture saw her tucked under a duvet, as she went on to explain suffering from an autoimmune illness that left her ‘debilitated’ at times and ‘chain [her] to [her] bed’.

She signed the post off writing: ‘Sending so much love and healing energy. You’re not alone. And you are far stronger than you think.’

The Traitors is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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