'Facts of Life' Star Lisa Whelchel Recounts 'Really Hard' Teen Years

Lisa Whelchel starred as Blair Warner, a pretty, spoiled teenager, in The Facts of Life from 1979 to 1988. While she seemed like she had the perfect life on screen, Whelchel was actually dealing with a lot off-screen during those formative years.

Whelchel spoke with Yahoo Entertainment about her time on the show and how hard it was to go through puberty in the spotlight.

Because her character was known as the beautiful and vain one, setting high expectations for Whelchel's appearance, she told the publication that she got sent to a "fat farm" three times during the show's hiatuses.

When asked if it was difficult to endure, she said, "Yeah, it was. Obviously we're in a different time. We've learned a lot. We're a lot more body positive right now, which I'm grateful for. I mean it's still an issue. But certainly as a teenager [that] was a lot."

"Though even back then I understood it's a business. They hired me to play a certain character that looked a certain way," Whelchel continued. "And it was also really, really hard because I was going through puberty and my parents were going through a divorce and I was living in California and they were in Texas, so there was emotional eating involved. All the things that are not atypical of teenage girls. But I think everybody was doing the best they could back then."

Whelchel noted that she's thankful there wasn't social media back then, saying, "It was difficult enough to go through puberty in front of millions of people, who were judgmental at times."

Still, Whelchel enjoyed her experience on The Facts of Life, telling the publication of her co-stars, "We really did have a good time, and we were like sisters. And we continue to be close. We were and still are good friends."

Shortly after The Facts of Life ended, Whelchel got married and started a family. There was a spinoff starring her in the works, but the network didn't end up picking it up.