Peter Andre has revealed how years of yo-yo dieting has impacted his mental health and left him fearing to go shirtless in public.
The 50-year-old shot to fame in 1995 with the hit Mysterious Girl and the accompanying music video showcasing his muscular physique, which he soon became known for.
Reflecting on his relationship with food, the TV star admitted that his “ripped 22-year-old” self means he had a lot to live up to.
However, Andre explained he got fatigued from keeping himself at a high physical standard in his thirties, which led him to gain three stone from eating “pizza, Chinese, anything I could get my hands on, all day, every day” and turn to fad diets to slim down again.
Yet it was during this time that the TV personality said he was left with “psychological issues” after being photographed coming out of the sea in the Bahamas.
He said the photo, which he claims was taken by a paparazzo hiding in the trees, led him to vow to never take his shirt off in public again.
He told OK! magazine: “The photo got sent all around the world and it was the first time people had seen me like that since the early days. I remember the headlines – ‘Andre piles on the pack’.
“Now, I’ve got this psychological link to something and it’s stopping me just freely walking around the beach – I just won’t do it. It’s ridiculous.”
Reflecting on his career in the 90s, the stage star admitted that he developed an unhealthy obsession with health and fitness after becoming a heartthrob.
He previously branded that period of his life as “weird” and explained that he would regularly fall ill as a result of his obsession with body image.
Speaking on Loose Women, he said: “I was watching everything I ate. I was doing everything you’re told you’re supposed to do by cutting out fats and being really strict.
“I was having raw eggs in the morning, protein shakes and training really hard, but I felt great. [But] I was getting sick a lot. I remember getting colds all the time and that’s probably because there wasn’t a lot of body fat.”
In the same interview, Andre hit back at claims he’s undergone any cosmetic procedures, revealing that he’s only had baby botox “because HDTV shows the lines”.
"I’ve had no fillers or anything like that and I don’t dye my hair – I’m not interested,” he continued. “I want to see how it plays out a little bit.”
