This anti-bullying week, we're thinking about when Love Island star Malin Andersson shared some seriously powerful content on social media, which hit us right in the feels.
The reality star and body-positivity advocate took to Instagram to share a poignant message back in 2019, to mark anti-bullying week.
Sharing a picture of her younger self, Malin reflected on her time at school when she was viciously bullied.
'This is me from when I was at school,' she wrote alongside the pic.
'I got picked on pretty much my whole school life. I got called a ‘p--i’ I got called Hitler for having a ‘tash’, Mr Burns urns for having long side burns.
'I had zero confidence. I was shy and quiet. I never said anything to anyone. I remember taking my glasses off and squinting in class because I hated them.'
'We are all unique and we shouldn’t be bullied or picked on for it,' she said. 'No matter what age anyone can get bullied. It needs to stop. Be kind to people.'
She went on to speculate that the constant name-calling probably contributed to the eating disorders she’s suffered with throughout her adult life, which she's spoken about on her social media channels, and in an interview with Closer this year.
She told us, 'The 24-year-old Malin who came out of Love Island should have been living the life of Riley, but I was suffering inside. I grew up in a house full of shouting, my mum was severely depressed and had mental health issues, and food became an emotional way for me to deal with any issue. Being in the limelight aggravated my eating disorder and body dysmorphia and led me to surgery. In the villa, I didn’t like my stomach and whenever the cameras would turn to me, I’d sit upright the whole time so you couldn’t see any rolls.'
Fortunately, Malin is in a much better place now thanks to therapy and rehab. She told us, 'I practise yoga, meditate and connect to myself. I needed to go through it all to have this whole new perspective on life.'
Anti-Bullying Week 2024, organising by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, takes place between 11 and 15 November.
If you've been affected by disordered eating, contact BEAT.
Georgina Terry is group digital editor of Closer and heat. She's been a fan of Love Island since the Jayne Middlemiss years and would love to see Malin return to the villa for All Stars.