Kate Ferdinand says she used to cry at pictures of herself before getting her incredible figure

Kate Ferdinand has revealed she suffered from anxiety and crippling body dysmorphia as a teen. The former TOWIE star admitted she would often look at photos of herself and cry, and at her worst, was unable to leave the house. She told Closer: “Sometimes I’d get ready and go to my friend’s house and we’d […]

Kate Ferdinand has revealed she suffered from anxiety and crippling body dysmorphia as a teen.

The former TOWIE star admitted she would often look at photos of herself and cry, and at her worst, was unable to leave the house.

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Kate says she always felt she looked “bigger” or “different”[/caption]

She told Closer: “Sometimes I’d get ready and go to my friend’s house and we’d take photos of ourselves before going out.

“Then I’d look at the photos and cry, and go, ‘I want to go home’ – and I would.

“I always felt I looked bigger or different. It was mad now I look back at it, but I was just in a really unhappy place.”

Kate – who is currently promoting her book Fitter, Happier, Healthier: The Ultimate 4 Week Body Transformation Plan – also opened up about overcoming her body demons on This Morning this week.

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She appeared on This Morning this week and said she has a “love-hate” relationship with her figure[/caption]

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Now Kate now has a much better relationship with diet and exercise, and regularly shares snaps of her workouts with Rio[/caption]

She admitted to having a “love-hate” relationship with her figure and fell victim to yo-yo dieting, but has now come to realise that her body doesn’t define her.

She said: “I think it controlled me, I got really anxious, I felt overwhelmed and it took over my life. Now I realise my body doesn’t define me [on being anxious about developing curves at an early age].”

Meeting and marrying her now-husband Rio has put life “into perspective” for Kate.

She became stepmum to the former footballer’s three young children, Lorenz, Tate and Tia, following the death of their mum – Rio’s first wife, Rebecca – in 2015.

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Kate says meeting Rio has helped her put things into perspective[/caption]

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She’s now a stepmum to Rio’s three children[/caption]

She explained: “Life has been put into perspective in recent years. I know what’s important and what isn’t. As long as I feel happy, it’s not all about what I look like any more.”

But that’s not to say it hasn’t been tough.

Kate recently revealed how hurt she felt after her husband’s kids told her she wasn’t their mum in a heated argument.

Speaking to the Times Magazine, Kate explained how a huge row with the children had upset her.

“You don’t know,” one of Rio’s children told her, “because you’re not a mum.”

“The minute they said it, there was a gasp,” she said, adding: “They’ve never said it again.”

She added: “But I’m not their mum. But I act like a mum and I see them as my children.”