These days, Kelsea Ballerini is loving herself like she means it.
The 28-year-old country music star opened up about her past body image issues in her new book of poetry Feel Your Way Through, sharing that she battled an eating disorder for years before seeking help at the age of 18. In a poem titled “Kangaroo,” Ballerini recalled how a boy from her childhood had nicknamed her after the marsupial because of her “belly and little legs.”
Ballerini, who said she took diet pills and struggled with bulimia as a child, looked back at how far she’s come since that difficult time. The singer told People in a new interview, “It’s a journey, and it’s never-ending.”
That lesson certainly rang true to Ballerini after a Today performance in 2015, when she “saw an article pop up, and it said, ‘Ballerini debuts baby bump.'”
She recalled, “I reverted back to that 12-year-old version of me but thought: Either you’re going to get triggered by this all the time, or you’re going to get to a point where you’re okay enough to look past it.”
