This year I’m running the Manchester Marathon to raise funds and awareness for First Steps ED.

I’m sharing some of my story below to explain why this cause is so close to my heart and how your support could help someone in need.

For as long as I can remember, I felt different. I was always aware of my image, always comparing myself, always noticing the things I thought set me apart. That pressure feels almost universal now, and comparison feels constant. Social media, polished feeds, and influencers showcasing “perfect” lives make it almost impossible not to compare yourself. At every turn, there’s a message telling you to change, try this new diet, fix this flaw, buy this injection, alter this part of yourself. The pressure is overwhelming and it’s shaping young minds before they have chance to think about it themselves.

Growing up, I loved watching America’s Next Top Model (which is controversial rewatching it now), but I never imagined modelling would be something I would do. That changed the day before my 16th birthday, when a London modelling agency scouted me in the Trafford Centre. Before I had chance to think, I was on a stage in a national competition. I made it to the semi-finals, and that was the first time my appearance became something people felt entitled to discuss openly.

My measurements were taken, and I was told to return the following year but “smaller.” As a 16 year old still figuring out who I was, suddenly hearing adults comment on what my body should look like was overwhelming. I was an adolescent, my body was still growing, changing, and going through puberty, yet I was being spoken to as if it was something I needed to control. I was told to change my body through diet and exercise, and those words stayed with me.

Looking back, I can clearly see how similar the pressure was to what people experience today. The difference is that my pressure came from one industry and now it comes from every direction, every day.

Over the next few months, I changed my eating in ways I thought would help me reach that perfection. I went long periods without eating and felt guilty whenever I didn’t match the image I thought I needed to achieve. Upon returning the next year, I was measured and judged again. This time in front of a room full of other hopeful models. I was questioned about my measurements, told certain parts of me were “too big” and told to avoid certain exercises and food types. I was left feeling confused and broken. No matter what I did, it never felt like enough.

I found myself caught in a cycle of restriction, guilt, and purging behaviours, all fuelled by the pressure I felt internally and eventually, this led to a diagnosis of Bulimia Nervosa. What began as trying to meet someone else’s ideal, stemmed into a full blown eating disorder. My life became ruled by rigid routines, compensatory behaviours, and constantly criticising myself. I felt overwhelmed by anxiety, shame and trapped in the belief that I would never be good enough. But with the help of an incredible therapist and my amazing family and friends, I slowly rebuilt my relationship with food, my body, and my self-worth. This year marks nine years of recovery.

My recovery journey has come full circle, in a way I never could have imagined at 16. What once felt like the darkest chapter of my life has become a source of strength and purpose. Now, working for First Steps ED, I get to support others in the ways that I desperately needed, helping them see that they deserve care, compassion, and a life beyond their eating disorder.

Your body is not a trend, and you never need to earn your worth. In a world that constantly tells us to change and “improve” ourselves, know that you are not the problem. The culture is.