15 Heartbreaking Revelations From Former Child Stars That Completely Change The Way You Watch Their Iconic Shows

Warning: this post contains mentions of body dysmorphia and eating disorders.

Growing up with the "Golden Age" of Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows, we mostly only saw the "good" parts of the actors' lives — the famous friends, the cool clothes, the global popularity, etc. However, as adults, many of their former child stars have spoken out about the negative experiences they had on set.

Here are 15 heartbreaking revelations from former child stars:

1. In 2024, That's So Raven star Raven-Symoné told The Unplanned Podcast, "There is an understanding that if you’re short and you wear heels, it thins you out. ‘Cause if you look taller, the proportions work out. Behind the scenes, my team — and, I’m sure, conversations — always led to me wearing heels."

2. In the 2015 OWN documentary Light Girls, Raven said, "When I had my own show, I used to tan three or four times a week in a tanning bed to get darker. It's funny, one of the lighting guys came up — I love him to death — he goes, 'Raven, I need you to stop tanning. You're getting too dark, and we have to relight the whole entire show.'"

3. In 2016, Raven, who was also on The Cosby Show, told Entertainment Tonight, "My likeness, whether you see it in an interview, whether you see it on print, however you see it, at that time, had 15 people dictating what I should and should not look like. If I did whatever I want, I'm not gonna sell, 'cause it doesn't go with the brand."

4. Raven also told Entertainment Tonight that she was aware of her sexuality at 12. She said, "I didn't wanna tell my parents because...I didn't. I knew I couldn't say it out loud because, 'Oh my god, little Olivia's gay? This is crazy!' I had the number one show on Disney. I had multiple albums. I'd been on tour with NSYNC. People have bucket lists. My bucket list was finished at 18. I didn't wanna deal with that. I didn't wanna deal with it...There was nothing that would've made me wanna deal with my own issue at that time...But that eats at your soul."

5. In a 2024 TikTok video, The Naked Brothers Band actor Allie DiMeco said, "There was an episode where [her character] Rosalina 'cheated' on Nat and kind of kissed a French guy. He’s a 30-year-old man. I’m sorry, I couldn’t even watch it. It gives me fucking the ick, and it honestly gives me PTSD. "

6. In 2022, Victorious actor Daniella Monet told Business Insider that she felt some of the teen actors' outfits on the show were "not age appropriate."

7. Daniella also told Business Insider that she contacted Nickelodeon about a Victorious scene where she ate a pickle and put on lipgloss. She expressed her worries it was too sexual to be broadcast, but her concerns were reportedly ignored.

8. In her memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died, iCarly actor Jennette McCurdy did not mention series creator Dan Schnieder by name. However, referring to him as "The Creator," she wrote about several times he made her feel uncomfortable. For example, she said that, during a photoshoot, he insisted the girls wear bikinis, despite her unease.

9. And in 2022, Jennette told the Hollywood Reporter, "At the time, I struggled with my character being so focused on food, being that I was suffering from life-threatening eating disorders."

10. In 2015, Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus told Marie Claire, "From the time I was 11, it was, 'You're a pop star! That means you have to be blonde, and you have to have long hair, and you have to put on some glittery tight thing.' Meanwhile, I'm this fragile little girl playing a 16-year-old in a wig and a ton of makeup. It was like Toddlers & Tiaras. I had fucking flippers."

11. Miley also told Marie Claire, "Every morning, I was getting coffee jammed down my throat to wake me up. I just had to keep going, be tough, be strong. Everything happened to me on that set."

12. In 2022, Drake & Josh star Josh Peck told the BFFs podcast, "There were challenges, there were hard times...especially being 300 pounds on television when I was 16. A lot of kids have awkward teenage years, and then they burn their yearbooks and swear their families to secrecy when they grow out of it, but mine are in reruns."

13. In 2018, Shake It Up star Bella Thorne told The Tom Ward Show, "I came from the [Disney] Channel, and I was told to be a very different person than I am." She was reportedly almost fired over a picture of her in a bikini.

14. In 2015, Bella told J-14, "Zendaya and I were put in a very unfortunate position where we were kind of forced to compete against each other [during Shake It Up], which made the whole first season of the show just very awkward for us. We wanted to love each other, but yet we were constantly being put against each other. It was, 'Who's better at this?' and 'Who's better at that?'"

15. And finally, in 2022, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody star Cole Sprouse told the New York Times, "My brother [Dylan] and I used to get quite a bit of, 'Oh, you made it out! Oh, you’re unscathed!' No. The young women on the channel we were on [Disney Channel] were so heavily sexualized from such an earlier age than my brother and I that there’s absolutely no way that we could compare our experiences. And every single person going through that trauma has a unique experience."

If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453(4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages.

The National Eating Disorders Association helpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 crisis support, text “NEDA” to 741741.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.