Alex Gray, star of The Traitors, has written an emotional piece in which she discusses her rehabilitation from bulimia and the adverse effects she experienced as her health deteriorated.
Alex nearly made it to the end of Claudia Winkleman’s hit BBC One game programme, where Faithfuls Aaron Evans, Meryl Williams, and Hannah Byczkowski won the £101,050 jackpot after evicting ultimate Traitor Wilfred Webster.
Wilf had recently attempted to convince Alex to join him as a mole, but she had declined and was banished around the roundtable.
The series saw Alex and lover Tom Elderfield startle their co-stars with the revalation that they had been dating before the show, but kept their romance a secret from the other participants as a part of their ‘game plan’.
Alex has been open about her health on social media since the series aired, warning others about autoimmune disorders and now releasing a reflective piece on bulimia.
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.
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‘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 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 say that the acid caused ‘uncomfortable’ bloating, that the’serious stress’ disrupted her menstruation and hormone levels, and that her teeth became’very transparent and thin’ as a result of the acid.
In another photo, Alex was visibly distraught and mentioned her hair loss, saying, ‘The same goes for your hair. In the shower, mine would come out in CLUMPS. In a year, I lost more than half of my hair thickness’.
She was tucked under a comforter in one photo, explaining that she had an autoimmune disease that left her ‘debilitated’ at times and ‘chained [her] to [her] bed’.
‘Sending so much love and healing energy,’ she said at the end of the letter. You’re not by yourself. And you are far more powerful than you realise.’
The Traitors is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
BEAT
If you suspect you, a family member or friend has an eating disorder, contact Beat on 0808 801 0677 or at help@beateatingdisorders.org.uk, for information and advice on the best way to get appropriate treatment