Robbie Williams earned praise for his appearance in a picture posted by his wife – but he’s now revealed the heartbreaking truth behind it. Photos / Getty Images
Robbie Williams earned praise for his appearance in a picture posted by his wife – but he’s now revealed the heartbreaking truth behind it. Photos / Getty Images
Robbie Williams has been candid about his struggle with body dysmorphia in a moment of catharsis on Instagram, dubbing it a “f***ing disaster”, reports news.com.au.
“So, if a genie appeared and said, ‘You can either have your super power be the ability to fly or eat what you want and remain at your goal weight?’ I would go for goal weight eating every day. What about you?” Williams asked his followers.
“I could write a book about self-loathing where my body image is concerned. Like pure self-hatred, the ugliness of feeling ugly.
“I’m body dysmorphic and on top of being dysmorphic, at times I can be 40+ pounds (18kg) overweight. So you can imagine what my mine sees. Or maybe you can’t, either way it’s a f***ing disaster.”
Williams, who has four kids with wife Ayda Field, confessed that his current weight doesn’t make him feel content either.
“At the moment I’m skinny. But me being me, my mind is going, ‘F***ing great Rob, you managed to get skinny and now your [sic] old, congrats, golf clap’.
“The struggle is real. The sadness shocking. I’ve had it all my life. And it won’t abate.”
Robbie Williams' wife posted a picture of her slimmed-down husband to Instagram. Photo / Instagram
The singer then asked his followers: “What is it that is hardwired in us, that is so calloused, that makes self-acceptance and self-love so difficult that it seems impossible?”
He concluded the post by saying he wasn’t “fishing for compliments” but just sharing his experience “for some sort of release.”
“And if someone else recognises themselves in the words I’ve written, maybe it helps both of us,” Williams said.
Singer Paloma Faith commented on the post, showing her support for the rocker.
“I’m exactly the same …. Sometimes when I see photos of me and im slim [sic] I can’t believe it and assume they have been photoshopped because in my mind im ALWAYS over weight and it’s exhausting. I wish I could be body positive but alas I’m just body negative and I’ve had two babies,” she shared.
Williams’ wife has previously shed light on the effect Noel Gallagher’s infamously cruel description of him as “the fat dancer from Take That” had on his self-confidence.
Take That in 1992. Robbie Williams (left), Jason Orange, Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen. Photo / Getty Images
The Feel singer has opened up in the past about his longtime struggle with addictions. In 2022, he revealed to The Sun that his sugar addiction was a “constant fight”.
“I have lost weight but it is a constant fight. Inside me there’s a giant person,” he said.
“My whole being and my whole body wants me to go in the opposite direction and be morbidly obese.
Robbie Williams performs at the Isle Of Wight Festival 2023 at Seaclose Park in June. Photo / Mark Holloway, Redferns
“At the moment I am just eating less. It is a constant slog and it is not a natural way of being. For me, what is normal is being twice this size.”
Williams also told the publication he has a hard time keeping healthy.
“There is no balance – moderation doesn’t exist. I do not have the ability to make that happen. It is either fat or thin.”
