Dying for Designers: Plus Size Model Crystal Renn Reveals Shocking Details About Eating Disorder | Playmate Jayde Nicole Sues Joe Francis for $1 Million Over Bar Brawl | Exclusive: Lauren Conrad Admits It 'Wasn’t Fair' She Was on 'The Hills'
Dying for Designers: Plus Size Model Crystal Renn Reveals Shocking Details About Eating Disorder
Eight years ago model Crystal Renn thought she had the world at her feet as one of the fashion industry’s rising young stars. Just one problem, she was dying of anorexia.
In her new book "Hungry", Renn chronicles the heart palpitations, excessive water retention, clumps of hair that would fall out and loss of her menstrual cycle, all problems she was faced with in the struggle to slim down to the unrealistic sample sizes synonymous to the high fashion world.
PHOTOS: Sexy and successful plus-sized models.
"I honestly couldn’t feel myself, I would have to literally count the veins on my arm when looking in mirror for reassurance that I was still standing in the same place that I was yesterday," Renn told Tarts.
But the now 23-year-old knew she’d hit rock bottom when at just 16 years old and living in London, she forced herself to do laps in an unheated pool at 5 a.m. in the middle of winter.
"I sat on the edge psyching myself up, forcing myself to get into the pool. Eventually I just threw myself in," Renn recalled. "I made myself do laps for over an hour; I was screaming and sobbing the whole time. I just had this image of myself on the runway…"
However Renn refuses to hold the industry responsible for her life-threatening disease and assured us that her agents, photographers and colleagues embraced her decision to move into plus-size modeling in order to recover a few years ago.
"I don’t blame anyone, I made the decision to be a model and to have an eating disorder, and I was prepared to do anything to accomplish my dream. I thank the experience taught me everything to appreciate myself today," she explained, adding that her new-found female curves in the size 12-plus arena have not only given her comfort and confidence but her career as sky-rocketed.
And interestingly, plus-sized models are apparently even treated better on the job.
"People actually want to work with us because we’re happy, our individuality is prized. Before I was just another straight-faced lemming, we all looked the same," she said.
Yet writing a book in order to help and inspire others isn’t enough for the celebrated Harper’s Bazaar cover girl, she has another important goal on her mind.
"I want to see all different shapes and sizes on the runway," Renn added. "And I want the sample size to be a 10. A zero should not be the norm."
Playmate Jayde Nicole Sues Joe Francis For $1 Million Over Bar Brawl
Earlier this week Joe Francis was boasting about entering a plea deal to end his ongoing criminal tax evasion case, but just as one legal dilemma dies down another seems to start for the "Girls Gone Wild" founder.
According to TMZ.com, 2008’s Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole is suing for a colossal $1 million alleging "assault and battery" stemming from an incident at Hollywood club Guys and Dolls last month in which her boyfriend Brody Jenner was reportedly tasered.
In the suit Nicole claimed that Francis physically attacked her by "pulling her hair from behind" and "violently shoving and/or throwing her to the ground." The 23-year-old model alleges she consequently suffered a myriad of injuries including a "black-eye, swollen face, bruised ribs, sore and bruised abdomen region, bruised arms and legs, ripped-out hair, and utter emotional distress and humiliation."
However Francis told Tarts exclusively that he plans to counter-sue in the coming days.
"Jayde Nicole is a total liar! Her lawsuit is completely bogus and without merit. I would never hit a girl in my life. Ever! All of Jayde's accusations in her lawsuit are completely contradictory to the actual security camera footage from the club that night. This was an unprovoked attack by Jayde Nichole and her loser boyfriend Brody. It's all a sad publicity stunt, as is her dating Brody Jenner," Francis said. "Jayde should expect a multi-million dollar counter suit against both of them from me, but it’s too bad neither of them have two pennies to rub together, so I will probably never get any money from them for the damage they have caused me by their outrageously slanderous and defamatory statements. See you in court, Jayde! You will not get away with your lies. This kind of reprehensible behavior and reckless abuse of our legal system all too often prevents real victims of violence from coming forward. That is not okay with me!"
Exclusive: Lauren Conrad Admits It 'Wasn't Fair' She Was on 'The Hills'
Lauren Conrad was rumored to be earning around $75,000 per episode as the leading lady in "The Hills," but even she admitted she was well, kinda boring and the show was well, kinda fake.
"The last couple seasons I didn't even do much. I narrated and I made expressions, so I slowly slowly moved my personal life off camera and I was at a point where it wasn't even fair for me to be a part of the show because it wasn't my real life anymore," Conrad told Tarts at the recent launch of her new contemporary lifestyle brand for women "LC Lauren Conrad," debuting exclusively this fall in 300 Kohl’s stores and online at Kohls.com.
And although millions and millions worldwide tuned in every week to see the starlet do a whole lot of not too much, she herself wasn’t one of them and has no plans to watch Cavallari in her place.
"I didn't even watch it when I was on it, I watched my parts to make sure I didn't do anything too stupid but I think that when you're involved in the making of a show you kind of lose the entertainment value, it’s just part of your job," Conrad explained. "I've never been the kind of person to like that attention. I value my personal time especially when I was filming because I had very little of it, but now that I've gotten it back you realize how valuable it is. I am enjoying having more (anonymity). Now I have more time and more free time and I've focused more and tried new things and I stopped filming and was like ‘I'm going to take up hobbies’ so I took up photography, dance classes and then I started writing again and realized I had no time!"
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