Former Strictly dancer Kristina Rihanoff has shared news of her weight struggles and the impact it has had on her daughter.
Kristina made her Strictly debut in 2008 and remained on the show until 2015. While she radiated confidence on the dancefloor, she has revealed she was deeply insecure with her body.
Kristina was convinced she was ‘fat’
While on Strictly, Kristina was a size 6 and weighed 8st 11lb. At the time, she was convinced she was “fat” and took part in diets to keep her weight down. In rehearsals, tough routines would make her faint.
“Watching myself on the show, seeing myself next to beautiful girls like Natalie Lowe and Iveta Lukosiute, who were super slim and super tall, I always felt I needed to be thinner,” she told The Sun.
“I felt so inadequate and fat. In my head I needed to lose weight and was always finding ways to have less calories,” Kristina continued.
Naturally a size 10, she slimmed down to a size 6. Kristina blamed internet trolls who would say cruel things about her body for fuelling her insecurities. “People would say: ‘’‘’”“”
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