Naya Rivera Opens Up About Struggling With An Eating Disorder

Naya Rivera's new memoir, Sorry Not Sorry, is full of brave revelations. In addition to revealing that she had an abortion while filming Glee, the actress also opened up about her past struggles with anorexia. In an excerpt of the book acquired by People, Rivera wrote that her eating disorder began when she was a teenager, while her acting career stalled, and her parents split up and reunited. "By the time I was a sophomore, I started feeling that what had begun as a game had maybe gone too far," she wrote. "I just avoided food at all costs. If my mom had packed a lunch for me, I'd either trash it or find some excuse to give it away." However, she says that she didn't realize the severity of her anorexia until she sat down to write about it for the memoir. "I was so young and it just seemed to be the norm. Everyone was going through similar stuff," she told People. "I had no way of knowing if I was going through it worse. I was juggling my feelings and it makes me sad that there are girls still going through that 15 years after I went through it." She also told People that she hopes that her story will reach others who may be struggling with similar issues by letting them know that they are not alone. Like Demi Lovato and Candace Cameron Bure, two stars who also recently spoke publicly about eating disorders, Rivera is discussing her struggle in hopes of reaching her fans. "It was very scary to open up about everything," she said. "It's not something a lot of people talk about, but I think they should. I know some people might read it and say, 'what the hell?' But I hope someone out there gets something out of it." It couldn't have been easy to write so candidly about such a personal subject, and we applaud Rivera's openness — and for aiming to help others along the way.