On Thursday, Tammin Sursok made a horrifying admission when she said she had grown up “hating” her body and allowing other people determine her worth.
The 39-year-old ex-Home and Away star admitted that as a young girl, she “desired to be wanted, to be lusted over” and battled an eating problem.
In honor of International Women’s Day, the actress wrote a number of heartbreaking stories on her Instagram about the terrible consequences of being objectified by men.
She began by telling a tale about a young boy she had a crush on who, at the age of 15, advised her to reduce weight.
She claimed she was ‘paralysed in fear and lust’ when he approached her, saying: ‘My heart stopped. I had daydreamed about this occasion for years.
But when the boy bluntly stated, “You need to go to Jenny Craig [weight loss program],” her dream was abruptly dashed.
Next, Sursok related how she had once forced herself to vomit after eating in order to reduce her weight to 45 kilos.
I had been forcing my chapped, raw knuckles down my esophagus for the previous forty minutes. I was familiar with this procedure. I had gotten really good at pretending,” she admitted.
My eyes appeared to be bleeding when I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I gave my reflection a flimsy grin. I believed that once I reached 100 pounds (45 kilograms), people would adore me.
Sursok ended her tale by describing the 30-year-old man she dated when she was 21 and how she allowed him to make fun of her body because “I was taught in school that boys that like you make fun of you,” she said.
The Australian who was born in South Africa added that she used to cry about her postpartum body and had spent more than 30 years hearing that the only path to happiness, worth, and love was for other people to think my body was good enough.
“To all my fellow women warriors who have ever struggled with body image, self-worth, or the fear of letting go of long-held beliefs, I see you,” she said. Let’s all learn to respect ourselves.