Camila Cabello Opens Up About Her ‘Ever-Present Struggle’ With Body Image
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While Camila Cabello is still riding the high of releasing her third studio album, Familia, she's also speaking out about her experiences with her body image, prioritizing mental health, and her close friendship with Selena Gomez.
In a new interview with People, the singer who has been open about mental health since her Fifth Harmony days admitted that keeping a positive body image is "an ever-present struggle," adding that she's not alone and that she thinks "a lot of women feel that way."
This admission comes following a lengthy note she posted on social media in April, where she discussed getting photographed by paparazzi during private beach trips in her hometown Miami and the upsetting toll it took on her mental health and body image. While fans responded rather positively to the post, the message was still difficult for the musician to share.
"I hesitated because I think it's vulnerable to post behind the scenes things like that," Cabello told People. "I also recognize the immense privilege I have and the life I live, so there's always a risk that I'm like, 'Are people just going to think I'm whining?'"
"People can often look at these pictures of celebrities and want to change their diet or aspire to that," she continued. "I thought it was important for me to be like, 'Hey, this isn't necessarily something to aspire to. I might look a certain way, but I've had a really s—ty time, and that's not a good way to be."
The "Bam Bam" songstress recognizes that raising awareness about body image and mental health issues doesn't eliminate them, but she does hope that letting the public know that a mega-famous, red-carpet regular like herself struggles with these problems on the inside can help others struggling with these same issues. "I don't have a solution for it, and I struggle with it all the time, even after that post. At the Met [Gala], I struggled with it too," she says.
Looking to mitigate the negative effects of social media and societal pressures to look "perfect", Camila decided to delete her social media apps from her phone.
"When I start to compare myself to people that I see on Instagram, which literally a couple days ago, I had the same kind of cycle of thoughts," she said. "I was just like, 'I'm just going to delete Instagram and TikTok,' the apps from my phone, and that helps me."
Luckily, Camila also has friend and outspoken mental health activist Selena Gomez to help her get through the rough patches. The Only Murders in the Building actress has long been open about her experiences with depression and anxiety, recently launching the brand Wondermind to help break the stigma around mental health and spark frank conversations.
"She is somebody that's always been so supportive, a really great friend, and a person with great values. She's super empathetic, loyal, and honest," she said. "We have our own little group, and we hang out, and all of our conversations are real."
"I feel like she's never pretending, and I don't feel like I have to pretend around her. Those are the most worthwhile friendships," Camila said in the interview. "Women like her being so vulnerable and honest with their feelings is such a guiding light for me, and I think it's going to alleviate a lot of people coming after her, after me, in the industry, that feel like they have to be perfect."
If this friendship isn't the definition of women supporting women, then we don't know what is. Keep up the stigma-crushing work, Camila and Selena!
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