Laura Fox feels lucky to have broken the cycle and recovered from an eating disorder.
The 2FM presenter admits she doesn't know how her now fiancé Brian Moran stayed with her during the troubling time as she was "quite nasty" to be around.
Laura feels eating disorders need to be treated more seriously.
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"Eating disorders are a disease and I just don't think they're given the attention they need in this country. They can consume not just one person but they can take the entire family down with them," she said.
"We all grew up with what diet are you on, how skinny can you get; that was the culture. For five to seven years, I didn't think there was anything wrong with me and neither did my friends. We thought our behaviour was normal."
Laura is grateful that she was supported during this time by her partner Brian, who proposed to her over the summer. The Ireland's Fittest Family host got the help she needed and feels much better physically and mentally.
She told the RTE Guide: "I still to this day, say to Brian that I don't know how he stayed with me because when we got together first I was in the height of that and I was quite nasty to be around. I was so irritable all the time, because I was starving myself and it was all I was thinking about.
"I don't track my food now, I don't have a weighing scale in the house, because it took me so long to break that cycle. I had so many health problems: gut issues, losing my periods. It was baby steps for me to stop; it's so hard to get out of and I'm really lucky I did, I'm so aware that I'm lucky."
Laura is in a great place professionally, and things are going just as well for her away from the airwaves and TV cameras. She and Brian got engaged while on holiday this summer and are already in the throes of wedding planning.
The Dancing with the Stars finalist wasn't completely surprised by Brian's proposal.
"I'm no fool! We'd been together nine years but I had always said to him that I wanted to be in a position, where I had a proper wage coming in before we got engaged, because I didn't want it to be a case of getting engaged and not being able to afford a wedding for years and years," she explained.
"After I got Fittest Family last year and Dancing with the Stars, it was coming."
Laura will marry Brian in Italy in two years, and with a venue already booked the couple are enjoying the engagement bubble for now.
She added: "We knew exactly where we wanted to get married and what we wanted to do, so we booked it pretty much the day after we got engaged. Now we have so much time, it's nice and chilled and we'reenjoying it. I don't know if I could be arsed being a bridezilla."
If you have been affected by any issues raised in this article, you can contact the Bodywhys helpline on 1890 200 444 or email alex@bodywhys.ie.
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