Georgia Townend from last year's Love Island has opened up about how she "begged" show bosses to let her ditch the bikini because of her body image woes while she shot the promotional photos for the ITV2 dating show.
Taking to Twitter to bravely talk about her experience with her body image issues, 29 year old Georgia lifted the lid on what it was like for her to bare her skin during the photoshoots that led up to her entering the villa.
She noted how she didn't want to wear a bikini in the photos because she didn't want much of her body on show through the fear of getting "criticised".
Posting one of her Love Island promo snaps from last summer, Georgia penned: "Nearly a whole year since this. I very rarely even talk about it because as soon as you do, someone starts yapping on about trying to stay relevant or clinging on to 15 mins.
"Anyway I digress, the reason I'm posting this is because I'm currently sat in an airport, knowing I'll be in a bikini shortly and how that always fills me with dread."
She went on to detail how she felt when she first saw the promotional pic of herself, writing: "And this day wasn't any different. I remember seeing my promo pic for the first time on my villa phone and thinking oh my god I look so fat and ugly, no-one will pick me, I was so embarrassed this was what people would see of me for the first time."
Speaking about how she feels about her body today, she added: "I've put on weight since those pictures were taken and now wish I looked like that, but at the time I thought I was fat. Make that make sense."
Detailing the photoshoot from last summer, Georgia penned: "They [the producers] wanted me to wear a bikini, and I begged them to let me wear my own cossie because I wanted as little of me on show as possible, because the less that people saw the less I would get criticised.
"As I stood and posed, the echolalia in my head was going like the clappers 'breathe in… make sure your thighs aren't touching… don't have your arms down by your side it'll make you look bigger… stand up straight.'
"But it stemmed much earlier than that, I can't actually remember a time I liked my body, how sad is that. Didn't matter what size I was, I always picked fault."
She ended the lengthy post by telling her followers that while she was busy hating the way she looked, she now looks back wishing she had made the most of it.
"Don't spend your life waiting for your body to look 'perfect' all the while missing out on buying the dress you love because it's not the size you want on the label, or skipping the holiday because you don't want to stand next to your skinny friends.
"You'll look back and think those were my best years and instead of enjoying it, you missed out making memories. I'm not getting another body, neither are you. So you may aswell love what you have," she concluded.
Fans were quick to send their love and support to the blonde beauty, with one praising the star by saying: "Thanks for sharing this. Needed it today. Have an amazing holiday, all you need to wear is your confidence and you’ll look incredible xx."
While another added: "I’m sorry you couldn’t see in that moment what we saw. We saw a beautiful woman, plus I loved every moment you popped up on the telly."
*Love Island kicks off tonight at 9pm on ITV2
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