Star insists she’s always been healthy and reports to the contrary were “insulting”

Jan 29, 2010 18:31 GMT  ·  By
Stunning Nicole Richie strikes a pose for the latest issue of Marie Claire magazine
   Stunning Nicole Richie strikes a pose for the latest issue of Marie Claire magazine

In the summer of 2006, a series of photos of Nicole Richie on holiday emerged, revealing a frame thinner than ever before and sparkling speculation of an eating disorder. Years later, Nicole, who is still thin as she’s always been, reveals to Marie Claire that she still finds those rumors “insulting” because they stuck a label on her that was not true.

She was never anorexic and never had an eating disorder, the star says for the latest issue of the magazine, and having the media constantly running such stories without as much as bothering to listen to what she had to say was an extremely unpleasant experience. Moreover, Richie says, an eating disorder is not something to be taken as lightly as the tabs did at the time, because it is a life-threatening disease and should therefore be taken as seriously as possible, not turned into a gossip topic.

“I felt it was a little unfair to say someone has an eating disorder when they don’t. It’s extremely insulting and irresponsible. An eating disorder is serious and it’s a disease. I think when you see me in person, you see that I’m, like, five foot one – I’m a small person. When I was heavier, everyone said I was too heavy. You can’t win in the public eye and I find it really hard. So I ignore it now, I really do,” Nicole tells the magazine.

She may have gotten to a point where she can ignore media reports but, looking back now, she still recalls one particular instance that made her feel extremely bad. “The only time it bothered me was when I was in a store trying on shoes and these girls came up to me – they were probably like 13 or 14 – and their mother came over, and she said, ‘Are you taking care of yourself, because my girls think that you’re not.’ That was upsetting,” Nicole says for Marie Claire.

After giving birth to her second child four months ago, Nicole Richie is preparing to make her comeback on the small screen, via a comedy series that she will produce and star in that was picked up by ABC. Not many details on the production are available at this time but, if we’re to believe the rumors, Richie is thinking of getting Ashlee Simpson on board as well.