Nicole Scherzinger developed bulimia because she had no body confidence until she was in her 30s.
The 34-year-old singer battled against the eating disorder for years because she hated the way she looked, but she managed to hide her feelings from everyone including her mother.
When asked by the new UK issue of OK! magazine if there was ever a time she wasn’t confident in her body, she replied: "My whole life until I hit my 30s. I was very conscious of my body. I started working out like a crazy person. I would run and run and run until I couldn’t run anymore."
When then quizzed about revealing her battle with bulimia, she added: "I was really so embarrassed, I’d never talked about it. My mum didn’t even know about it until they had to interview her. I was too ashamed to tell anybody. [My mum] cried for a long time, but I think in some weird way, she battled with similar things as well, when she was young with her insecurities. I think she could relate so she wasn’t so hard on me."
When she first talked about her struggle with the eating disorder, Nicole admitted she "hated herself," was "disgusted and embarrassed" about her problem and "felt so alone" even though she was part of girl group the Pussycat Dolls.
However, she has long overcome her problems and is now very happy with herself.
Nicole – who is dating Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton – said: "I’m really happy because it’s in my past now, but initially I was like, ‘I’m so stupid, no one is going to understand, why am I coming out with this, I’m truly naked and exposed and they’ll see me for all my flaws. And it wasn’t until I saw my tweets when I was in London that I cried and cried and cried. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, people are actually getting to see me.’ But when they see you for all your flaws they think, ‘She’s just like me.’ You feel a connection. You don’t feel so alone."