Tom Daley "felt very alone" as he battled an eating disorder.
The former Olympic diver, 30, has revealed he struggled with body image issues at the height of his sports career when he was just a teenager and it manifested itself in "body dysmorphia and bulimia".
He told Fashion magazine: "I had moments of real struggle. I didn’t think anything of it when I was younger, but in 2011, my performance director told me that I was overweight and that I needed to look like I did when I was 14 - I was nearly 18 at the time.
"That was the first time I felt like somebody was looking at my body - not from a performance point of view but by what it looked like. So, yeah, around that time, I struggled with all kinds of different issues around body dysmorphia and bulimia."
When asked if social media has increased pressure on athletes to look a certain way, Tom replied: "It’s increased in certain ways, but there is a lot more support.
"Also, there’s so much more information about how to fuel your body correctly. Back when I was struggling, it was not something that men talked about. It was like: ‘Well, that only happens to girls.’ So I felt very alone in that experience."
Tom was just 14 years old when he was thrust into the spotlight as part of the Team GB Olympic team back in 2008 and the sports star - who has two children with husband Dustin Lance Black - previously admitted he feels "lucky" that his achievements have been well documented, especially since it was his eldest son who inspired him to take part in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he won a silver medal.
Speaking on UK TV show 'This Morning', he explained: "It does feel very weird to have my whole life documented in that way but at the same time I feel lucky to have that moment for my kids one day to look back and see all the things that I did and all the things they inspired me to do.
"If it wasn't for [son] Robbie, I wouldn't have come back for these Olympic Games and I'm very glad that I did having come away with another medal.
"It's also very special whenever I bump into people in the street and they're asking questions about my diving. I swear people know more about my life than I do myself and where I'm gonna be! But it's been great to come back and be a part of Team GB again."
