Influencer says she was on a 'tapas and cocaine' diet to stay thin

Words by Kerry Justich.

Australian model Ruby Tuesday Matthews is opening up about how she maintained a slim figure before having her two children — and said it all came down to cocaine, black coffee and cigarettes.

The 25-year-old took to her Instagram to answer questions from her over 193,000 followers when the conversation took a candid turn. When asked about how she was so skinny before having kids, Matthews gave a shocking response.

“I did a lot of cocaine, like a lot,” she said in the video. “So basically I just smoked cigarettes, had long blacks and did coke. And in between, had the tapas. Like my life was tapas and cocaine.”

She sarcastically added, “That sounds nice,” before explaining that it was an “addiction.”

“A lot of people never really understood like how I could eat and still be so thin. But I guess it’s pretty easy to hide an addiction,” she said. “Like people don’t really realise how easy it is to hide something. Whether it’s addiction, depression, anxiety.”

The model also said that her lifestyle wasn’t at all far from the norm. Instead, she admitted that the influencer industry pushes a lot of women to depend on the same extreme means of dieting. Marissa Meshulam, a dietitian and nutritionist, reaffirmed to Yahoo just how dangerous that is.

“The role influencers play in affecting their followers’ diet and lifestyle decisions is really scary,” Meshulam said. “People look at influencers as ‘goals’ in so many ways. Followers then try everything to replicate their influencers’ lifestyles, thinking that they too can achieve these goals.'”

Meshulam said that the emphasis should always be placed on health, rather than weight.

“Ruby may have been ‘skinny’ while following that diet, but I think we can all agree there is absolutely nothing healthy about it,” she said.

According to Matthews’s live stream, she said quit her unhealthy habits when she found out that she was pregnant with her first child. And in her latest Instagram post, she reflects on how she has “no desire to look like that ever again.”

Now, Matthews’s followers are praising her for being so open about it.

“Thank you for your vulnerability and honesty in sharing!” one follower wrote. Another said, “Love hearing your stories. You are an inspiration to so many.”

Others also commented on how they too hope Matthews doesn’t go back to that place, saying, “F*** what the industry says is perfect” and “You look perfectly healthy and beautiful now.”

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