Clayton Echard, the star of season 26 of The Bachelor, has recently opened up about his past struggles with body dysmorphia.
The 28-year-old reality star talked about his body dysmorphia struggles on the latest episode of the Bachelor Nation podcast Talking It Out.
He told hosts and former contestants Mike Johnson and Dr. Bryan Abasolo that he worried about how he would look ahead of filming.
Echard said, “I remember that was a big thought I had — the camera adds 10 lbs. So I’m going to be honest with you — I was kind of scared. I was like, here, we’re going to find out right now how I look on camera, I have no idea. And I was afraid that it was going to put me in a little dark spiral, like, you look fat.”
He said, “You can never shake that body dysmorphia — it’s always there. You can kind of get it under control in some realms, and I’ve done that through diet. But it’s always going to be there.”
The former football player has been managing his body dysmorphia, but he said it would also surge back up, especially with social media.
Echard explained, “I’m at a better place where I’m okay with it now because I’ve had enough people say like, ‘hey, you look like you’re in good shape.’ But all it takes is three comments back to back to back to say, ‘you look kind of fat,’ and that’s all it takes.”
“All of a sudden it puts you right back into that negative mindset,” he continued. “That’s kind of the power of body dysmorphia and the fear of it is like, you never truly get rid of it.”
Johnson asked how Echard has worked to correct his body dysmorphia. The current Bachelor said that it helps to keep a steady routine of exercise and healthy eating. However, he added that it also takes mental work.
“I think the tough part about body dysmorphia is it’s so visual,” he said. “So unless you can change the way you can view yourself, you’re never going to truly shake it because it’s what you see. Everyone wants to see a picture, everyone wants to look in the mirror and go, I actually like what I’m seeing today. It’s not a quick fix, it never will be.”
Echard, who is also best known for his appearances as a contestant on season 18 of The Bachelorette, pointed out that what may work for him would not necessarily work for another person.
He said, “Every body is different, and because of that you have to say, here’s what works best for me, and I need to figure that out. Put the time in to figure out what works best for you and understand that it just takes time to get there.”
