‘It was a bonding thing’: OITNB’s Laura Prepon reveals her weight plummeted to 105 lbs. when her MOTHER taught her to be bulimic as a teen, telling her, ‘You can have your cake and eat it too’
- Laura, 40, discussed her eating disorder in her new book ‘You & I, as Mothers’
- The actress recalled that age 15, she went to a model agency casting and was told to lose 25 lbs.
- Laura, at 5’10”, and her mother made it a ‘shared project’ with weigh-ins
- Her mother Marjorie was bulimic in college and she equated being thin with being successful
- The actress’ bulimia lasted into her late 20s, though she says she is now focused on her health
Laura Prepon said that her own mother taught her how to be bulimic, helping her maintain a weight of just 105 lbs. at 5’10”.
The 40-year-old Orange is the New Black star reflects on her eating disorder in her new book, ‘You & I, as Mothers,’ and revealed to People this week that it began when a modeling agency told her to lose weight — and her mother Marjorie helped her to realize she could eat and purge.
‘I always thought of myself as this strong, confident woman, but it became a compulsion that would completely debilitate me,’ she said.
Sharing her truth: Laura Prepon, 40, said that her own mother taught her how to be bulimic
Learning: ‘She told me, “You can have your cake and eat it too.” I knew exactly what she was talking about,’ Laura said of her mom Marjorie
Long lasting: Laura said she was bulimic from age 15 until her late 20s (pictured in 2001)
When Laura was 15, she was 5’10” and ‘athletic’ — but that doesn’t cut it in the modeling world.
She had gone for an open casting at an agency, where she was told to lose 25 lbs., and the weight loss soon became her and her mother’s ‘shared project.’
‘My mom started weighing me every morning and taking my measurements,’ Laura said.
Eventually she was down to just 105 lbs. — which gave her a BMI of 15.1, dangerously below the a low normal weight BMI of 18.5.
Flashback: When Laura was 15, she was 5’10” and ‘athletic,’ but a modeling agency told her to lose 25 lbs. (pictured after a runway show when she was 15)
Tiny: ‘My mom started weighing me every morning and taking my measurements,’ Laura said. Eventually she was down to just 105 lbs.
Lessons; Laura (seen left in 1997) said that Marjorie was bulimic in college, and after she lost weight that way, sh met Laura’s dad — so she equated thinness with success
‘That’s when she told me, “You can have your cake and eat it too.” I knew exactly what she was talking about,’ Laura recalled.
Opening up: She discusses her eating disorder in her new book ‘You & I, as Mothers’
‘It was a bonding thing we would do together. A shared secret.’
Laura said that Marjorie was bulimic in college, and after she lost weight that way, sh met Laura’s dad — so she equated thinness with success.
‘I think she was trying to help me in her own way,’ she said.
Laura added her bulimia lasted from 15 into her late 20s. She was cast on That 70’s Show at age 18.
Marjorie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about seven years ago, and as she lost her sense of self, Laura felt compelled to confront their past.
However, she doesn’t want to feel anger toward her, especially with the limited time they have left, and is instead focusing on being healthy.
She is now a mother herself, sharing a baby boy and a three-year-old daughter named Ella with her husband Ben Foster.
Family: She is now a mother herself, sharing a baby boy and a three-year-old daughter named Ella with her husband Ben Foster