Victoria Beckham may be the last person on earth you'd expect to have body-image struggles. She’s a 10-time platinum-selling artist, fashion world darling, and oh yeah, she's married to one of the hottest men on the planet.
But in a letter to her younger self published in British Vogue this month, the former Spice Girl opened up about the hardships she faced as a teen.
The future superstar had a difficult time fitting in at her performing arts school.
"Dear Victoria, I know you are struggling right now," she wrote to her 18-year-old self. "You are not the prettiest, or the thinnest, or the best at dancing at the Laine Theatre Arts college."
She went on to lament her bad acne, "plump" figure, and placement in the very back of her end-of-the-year show. She recounted calling her mother to tell her she wanted to come home.
Beckham also revealed that she struggled with her weight and suffered from disordered eating.
In the letter, she recalled eating Cup of Noodles and boxes of Frosted Flakes cereal "because they say they are fat free." She said she indulged in other fad diets, such as juicing, to control her weight.
Beckham has previously detailed her struggles with anorexia and bulimia in her book "Learning to Fly."
"In the gym, instead of checking my posture or position, I was checking the size of my bottom, or to see if my double chin was getting any smaller," she wrote.
Beckham's weight and eating habits are consistent fodder for tabloids. She also drew backlash for using an extremely thin model to advertise her clothing.
However, her message for her teenage self is surprisingly body positive:
Learn to embrace your imperfections – that is what I want to tell you. Let your skin breathe; wear less make-up. (And don't ever let that make-up artist shave your eyebrows! The effects last forever). You will always be addicted to Elnett hairspray but you will tone it down. Less of the 'Hello! I just got stuck in a wind tunnel,' please.
She even told her younger self not to "mess with your boobs" — an obvious reference to the secret boob job she said she now regrets.
"All those years I denied it – stupid," she wrote. "A sign of insecurity. Just celebrate what you've got."
And in the end, she thanked the Spice Girls for helping her reach this conclusion.
Later in the letter, Beckham nostalgically reflected on the talent competition that launched her career.
"The judges of the competition will match you to four other girls, all misfits in their own ways," she wrote. "Together you will make it OK to look different. And, as the Spice Girls, you will sell 75 million records."
To 18-year-old Beckham (and all the other teens reading this), we say: You better listen carefully.
