James McVey has spoken about having undergone liposuction at the age of 20 in order to have tissue removed from his chest.
Speaking on The Independent's “Millennial Love” podcast, the Vamps singer explained that he suffered from body dysmorphia throughout his teens.
“It’s easier for people to write it off as vanity but it’s not that," the now-27-year-old explained.
“In many ways, it’s self-destructive. Because I guess at the crux of it, you want to be liked and accepted and be happy with yourself but what you’re doing to your body is torturous in many ways.”
McVey explained that his issues with body image began when was 16 years old, but they were exacerbated when he rose to fame with The Vamps as a teenager.
“I’d gone from living a relatively chilled easy normal life in Dorset to then being like on the road, busy from city to city,” he said.
"So the thing that I clung onto was, right I’m going to control everything that I put into my body and the fitness that I do because that’s the only thing that I can control.”
McVey went onto reveal how he came to undergo liposuction to remove tissue from his chest.
“It wasn’t fat at all, it was just breast tissue,” he said. "And no matter how much I starved myself or went to the gym and lifted weights, it would never go. So I ended up having tissue removed.
McVey was on tour in Australia at the time.
“I had to wear this vest thing for like a month so my insides didn’t seep out of these stitches that I had. And I was just like, this is f***ed up.
"It’s only in the past couple of years when I’ve looked back and realised that was a really strange place for me, and it still affects me a lot now.”
The singer added how, with the help of his long-term girlfriend Kirstie Brittain, he has developed a more positive relationship with his body.
“Being able to do things like this, and communicate how I felt about that certain thing and acknowledging it was a dangerous place to be, but like understanding the root that it took me to get to that point hopefully will help other people recognise when their tendencies turn into quite dangerous habits," he said.
You can listen to the full episode of “Millennial Love” here.
For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this piece, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677.
You can also visit the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation here.
