Lili Reinhart revealed she developed an eating disorder while filming Riverdale.
“I really don’t like looking at season 6 imagery or pictures, because I know that 99 percent of my thoughts were about my body,” Reinhart, 28, told Self in an interview published on Wednesday, January 22.
The actress, who played Betty Cooper on the hit The CW series from 2017 to 2023, recalled struggling on set, adding, “I was a thousand percent just disassociated through that entire day or scene because my entire inner dialogue is just … ‘Your body’s changing.’”
Reinhart has previously been candid about struggling with her self-confidence after Riverdale launched her into the spotlight. “Actually, not everyone on this show is perfectly chiseled,” she replied to a fan via X in February 2020 who complimented the cast’s looks. “And even I feel intimidated by the physique of my surrounding cast mates sometimes when I have to do bra/underwear scenes.”
Reinhart discussed her complicated feelings about filming scenes that required her to strip down on screen.
“I’ve felt very insecure due to the expectation that people have for women on tv, what they should look like. But I have come to terms with my body and that I’m not the kind of person you would see walking on a runway during fashion week. I have bigger boobs, I have cellulite on my thighs/butt, and my stomach sticks out rather than curves in,” she added at the time. “This is still something I struggle with on a daily basis. And it doesn’t help when I’m being compared to other women.”
Despite feeling “very insecure” about showing her body on camera, Reinhart said she “felt it was my obligation to be strong and show confidence” for those watching at home. “And I want other young women to see my body on tv and feel comfort in the fact that I’m not a size 0. And I’m not a perfect hourglass shape,” she concluded.
Along with discussing her body image, Reinhart opened up to Self about battling a debilitating illness. Reinhart has continued to advocate for herself despite not receiving a concrete diagnosis from various doctors.
“I understand this is a story that’s not very relatable but just how dehumanizing being at a doctor’s office can be [as a person in the public eye],” she said. “I’m not here for small talk, I’m here for help.”
Reinhart went through multiple procedures — including a cystoscopy — and that led to medical professionals saying she could have interstitial cystitis. IC is a chronic disorder that causes a person’s bladder or bladder wall to become irritated and inflamed.
“I’m like, ‘I’ve had UTIs before. I’m a woman. We all know how it feels,’” Reinhart said about her symptoms. “The second I’m done peeing, I still feel like I have to pee, but my pee is showing up with no infection.”
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She continued: “No tumors, no cysts, just a lot of inflammation. It’s like you almost hope there’s something in there so you can remove it and feel better.”
Reinhart is currently doing weekly bladder instillations, with a doctor inserting a catheter filled with medicine into the urethra to help relax pelvic and bladder muscles to treat symptoms.
“No one ever knows what that is when I talk about it,” Reinhart noted. “But my urogyno is telling me so many women have this, and that’s why I think it’s as important as it is to just be like, ‘Hey, I’m dealing with it too.’”
If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, visit the National Eating Disorders (NEDA) website or call their hotline at (800) 931-2237 to get help.
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