Freddie Flintoff opens up about his bulimia - 'I nearly asked for help in my early 20s... I didn’t feel like I could speak or say anything'
Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff opened up about his battle with bulimia ahead of his new documentary and admitted he almost asked for help when he was in his 20s.
Speaking to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain, Freddie said of his eating disorder: "The stats of men suffering from eating disorders is high, probably more so than anyone would think.
"I nearly asked for help in my early 20s. We had a dietician come in to speak to the team. I was at that point where I was about to say I have a problem here. She signed off by saying that she worked with a lot of women and she wouldn’t imagine there was anyone with an eating disorder in the room, because we were a group of lads, obviously. I didn’t feel like I could speak or say anything. Being a bloke, 6ft 4 and from Preston, I’m not meant to have an eating disorder by rights. So, you keep it hidden away and you don’t want to speak about it."
"I’m 42 now, I’m still not 100% sure how comfortable I am with the documentary tonight going out and the reaction there will be towards it. But I suppose I’m more comfortable in my skin these days," he added.
On the documentary, he said: "As it unravelled we spoke to some amazing people, some lads who had been through it…I started to learn a hell of a lot more about myself and how I deal with this.”
He said every now and again he needs to have a word with himself, saying: “It isn’t something that I’ve had treatment for or something I’ve seen people for, but I’ve had it for such a long time.”
Explaining how over-training can also be a part of the condition, Freddie said: “What I’ve realised as well is, I could be living better and a little bit easier through this. Probably treatment and seeing someone, something I’m definitely looking into."
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