Melanie C banned diet talk around daughter after her own eating disorder
Melanie Chisholm refuses to talk about diets around her 10-year-old daughter, after her personal struggles with an eating disorder.
The Spice Girls singer, 44, says her experience affects how she has raised her daughter, Scarlet.
“I didn't ever allow people to speak about diets in our house,” she revealed in an interview with Women’s Health magazine.
“Scarlet's 10 years old now and I'm starting to notice that she's more conscious of the way she looks, but I think one of the positives of having gone through having an eating disorder is that I'm very conscious of how I speak around her.”
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“That positive language - it's habit now,” she added.
She discussed her eating disorder in the interview, which caused her to eat just fruit and vegetables.
“I started not looking after myself properly, cutting out food groups, and my exercising became more and more obsessive, to the point that I was underweight,” said Chisholm.
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“I was unwell and that probably continued for a couple of years.”
The singer was later diagnosed with depression.
Previously, Mel B - Mel C’s bandmate - has admitted that eating disorders were “so normal” in the Spice Girls.
The singer, who insisted that she herself had never suffered from an eating disorder, said she failed to realise that “a few of the girls” had lost a lot of weight “in a short space of time”.
During the Loose Women interview, Mel didn't reveal which “girls” she was referring to.
However, earlier this month, Mel C’s former Spice Girls bandmate Victoria Beckham said she stopped skipping meals after becoming a mum.
The 45-year-old businesswoman and fashion designer said she realised the importance of being a role model to her children, including daughter Harper, eight – which meant she stopped skipping meals when she was around them.
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“When you have children, it puts a lot into perspective. You realise they notice everything,” she revealed, adding: “I would never sit down with my kids and skip a meal,” in an interview with the autumn-winter 2019 edition of Glamour.
If you or someone close to you is suffering from an eating disorder, you can visit the Beat eating disorders charity website for support and guidance.
