Tom Daley reveals how a savage comment from one of his diving instructors led to him battling body dysmorphia and bulimia

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Tom Daley has revealed that his issues with body dysmorphia and bulimia were triggered by a savage comment made by one of his diving instructors.
The former Olympic diver, 31, candidly opened up about his struggles with body issues and eating disorders in his new documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds.
He recalled how a shocking comment made by an instructor led to him obsessing over his weight and food.
Tom explained: 'At the end of 2011 I was told that I would have to lose weight by our performance director at British diving, and that I was overweight and that I needed to look slimmer, leaner and more like I did in 2008.
'It was the first time where I felt that I was being looked at and judged not for how I did in the diving pool, but for how I looked.
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'I took then some quite drastic measures to make sure that the food did not stay in my stomach let's put it that way.'
He candidly went on: 'A rational person would know that I wasn't fat, but that was all that I could think about in the build up to the Olympic Games. I had a diary that I would write in, and at the top of it, I'd write the date and my weight.
'I was kind of left on my own devices, and kind of left with that struggle by myself, because even when I was having these meetings with my sports psychologist, I didn't know how to bring that out, because every time I said it out loud, I knew it felt silly.
'But in my head, it was the biggest thing that I would always think about every day, every time I made a decision about what I was going to eat, if I was going to eat it and then get myself so hungry that I would end up eating so much and bingeing to the point where I was then so guilty that I then had to do something about that.'
The gold medallist admitted that he felt 'very alone' and unable to talk to anyone about his struggles, because he felt as though men weren't supposed to have mental health issues.
Tom said: 'I still feel like ashamed talking about it now, because, like, once you're on the other side of it, it seems so easy just to stop and ask for help, but when you're in it, you feel like you can't be helped.
'Guys didn't have eating disorders. Guys didn't have any problems with their mental health.
'Guys were meant to be these macho things that get on with anything and you just keep going. I was not that, I didn't know who I could talk to.
He previously spoke of his early career struggles ahead of the release of his new Discovery+ documentary, Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds, in June (pictured in 2008)
'The running theme here is that I felt very alone in all of the things that I was dealing with.'
Body dysmorphia is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others, according to the NHS.
Bulimia (bulimia nervosa) is an eating disorder and serious mental health condition. according to the NHS.
Tom previously reflected on his body issues earlier this year, telling Fashion Magazine: 'I had moments of real struggle. In 2011, my performance director told me that I was overweight and that I needed to look like I did when I was 14 - I was nearly 18 at the time.
'That was the first time I felt like somebody was looking at my body - not from a performance point of view but by what it looked like.'
'I struggled with all kinds of different issues around body dysmorphia and bulimia.'
After retiring from diving in 2024, Tom has set his sights on projects including the upcoming knitting show with Channel 4, Game of Wool.
The documentary forced him to look back on the good and bad of his Olympic career.
The diver said he felt particularly alone as a man suffering from an eating disorder.
He added: 'It was not something that men talked about. It was like, 'Well, that only happens to girls. So I felt very alone in that experience.'
But while Tom was candid about the darker side of his athletic career, he said he is excited to tell his children about it.
Tom shares two children - Robert 'Robbie' and Phoenix Rose - with his husband Lance Black. They welcomed the twins in 2023 via a surrogate.
Tom said: 'There's so much archival footage that I've never seen before, so it was very surreal to look back on it.
'It made me very emotional, but I'm really excited to be able to show it to my kids in the future: 'This is what I did as an athlete and what I'm extremely proud of.''
The former diver turned knitting extraordinaire explained that over time, his priorities shifted towards his family.
He added: 'By the time the Tokyo Olympics came around [in 2021], I realised I was more than just a diver.
'Between 2016 and 2021, I got married, we had a kid and my priorities shifted.'
Touching upon his changing priorities, Tom said that knitting became a healthy distraction for him.
He explained: 'During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; we had such severe lockdowns that knitting actually became my superpower.
'It allowed me to really stay present and have a healthy distraction.'
WHAT IS BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER?
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), or body dysmorphia, is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others.
People of any age can have BDD, but it is most common in teenagers and young adults. It affects both men and women.
Having BDD does not mean you are vain or self-obsessed. It can be very upsetting and have a big impact on your life.
Symptoms of BDD
You might have BDD if you:
worry a lot about a specific area of your body (particularly your face)
spend a lot of time comparing your looks with other people's
look at yourself in mirrors a lot or avoid mirrors altogether
go to a lot of effort to conceal flaws – for example, by spending a long time combing your hair, applying make-up or choosing clothes
pick at your skin to make it 'smooth'
BDD can seriously affect your daily life, including your work, social life and relationships. BDD can also lead to depression, self-harm and even thoughts of suicide.
You should visit your GP if you think you might have BDD.
If you have relatively mild symptoms of BDD you should be referred for a type of talking therapy called cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which you have either on your own or in a group
If you have moderate symptoms of BDD you should be offered either CBT or a type of antidepressant medication called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)
If you have more severe symptoms of BDD, or other treatments don't work, you should be offered CBT together with an SSRI.