Rhea Ripley Opens Up About Body Dysmorphia & Self Harm

Former NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley has opened up about believing she has body dysmorphia during her appearance on the Chasing Glory podcast.

Body dysmorphia, or body dysmorphic disorder to give it its official name, is a mental health condition whereby the person spends time worrying about flaws in their appearance that are often unnoticeable to others.

Ripley said:

“I feel like I have really bad body dysmorphia. My ex used to say it all the time because I would look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘Oh, I look disgusting.’ He’s like, ‘You got something wrong with you, because you look fine.’ Even Kevin, [Ripley’s current boyfriend], says, ‘You look great!’ And I’m like, ‘No, look at this bit on my tummy right here. It’s fat.’

“I think it was growing up, and watching TV, and looking at magazines – all of that stuff, and you know how all of that is portrayed. I still have a certain way that I want to look, and it’s really difficult because of the touchy subject, but I see a lot of fitness models, and a lot of them are on steroids. I’m like, ‘I don’t ever want to put that crap in my body, like, ever. I hate that.’ I don’t want to die young; I just want to look like them, so, that makes it really hard. I go, ‘Why don’t I look like this? I put so much time and effort into the gym and my legs aren’t growing.'”

Rhea Ripley also spoke about her struggles with self harm, which fellow NXT star Toni Storm is also a survivor of, saying:

“We’ve talked a little bit about it. With Toni, I have known her for so long. We’ve been friends since we were 16 years old. I’ve seen the marks and stuff, but I’ve always asked her about them. But she always comes up with different stories for them, so to find out that? I want to say that I’m surprised, but I’m not. I’m glad that we have each other and that we’re both here.”

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information on where you can find help is available at this link.

Quotes via Wrestling Inc

• mental health
• rhea ripley
• nxt
• wwe

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