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Stay up to date with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more
Shailene Woodley has spoken about the “mixture” of health issues she experienced while filming the Divergent film series.
The Big little lies Actress appeared in the last episode of You MD Podcast where she said her health problems cost her acting jobs after her role in the major sci-fi series.
Woodley played the main character Beatrice Prior in Divergent, Insurgent And Allegiant from 2014 to 2016.
“I haven’t talked about what it was exactly because it feels like a personal thing that I don’t need to reveal,” Woodley said on the podcast.
“But basically I was in a situation where I was in my early 20s. It got to the point where I lost my hearing. I couldn’t walk for more than five minutes at a time without having to lie down and sleep for hours. Everything I ate hurt my stomach.”
She said she had gone to various health professionals, from “real doctors” to “independent healers,” but had difficulty finding a diagnosis for her illness.
“It was this mixture of problems and diagnoses and different doctors told me different things,” The Secret Life of the American Teenager said Alum. “I come from a very holistic background and studied herbalism, so I was really keen on, ‘Okay, I’m going to work with real doctors and with independent healers.’ And I just tried to find a sense of comfort in my own skin. It’s been a long journey.”
Woodley explained that in addition to her physical health problems, she was also experiencing mental health issues, as she believed that anything she did could somehow make her symptoms worse.
“During that decade, a lot of other things had to do with the intense physical discomfort, like feeling, ‘Oh my goodness, if everything I eat gives me a stomach ache, I’m suddenly afraid of food,'” she recalls.
“And then I go into the mental shit that can come with it – the body dysmorphia and confusion about identity and feeling safe in my own pod.”
The actress clarified that she was no longer sick and that the problem had “resolved itself.” “I’m very healthy. I’m so happy to say that. And it also forced me to really look deep within myself and reflect,” Woodley said on the podcast.
Fate is a lousy traitor The actress has already spoken about her health problems in an interview with The New York Times back in 2020.
“While I was doing this, Divergent movies and hard work, I was also struggling with a very personal, very scary physical situation,” she told the outlet at the time. “Because of that, I turned down a lot of opportunities because I needed to get healthy, and those jobs ended up going to colleagues of mine that I love.”
