British actress and America’s Next Top Model winner Sophie Sumner reveals secret eating disorder and addiction struggle at the height of her TV fame

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Sophie Sumner, a British actress and model who won America’s Next Top Model, has spoken about the intense pressure she faced after her win. She says it led to addiction and a serious eating disorder.

The 35-year-old model – who’s worked with brands like Vogue Italia, Puma, and Rimmel – first became well-known in 2009 when she appeared on Britain’s Next Top Model, where Lisa Snowdon guided her as a mentor.

In 2012, she made history as the first British winner of America’s Next Top Model, impressing judges Tyra Banks and Kelly Cutrone.

In 2015, she appeared on the E4 reality show Taking New York, which followed a group of British expats – including Love Island‘s Jamie Jewitt – as they pursued romance and professional success in New York City.

The actress and podcast host, originally from Oxford, has revealed that despite seeming to have a perfect life, she was actually battling loneliness, alcoholism, and bulimia in private.

Sophie shared on her YouTube channel that winning America’s Next Top Model, a very popular TV show, should have been the happiest moment of her life. She expected to feel thrilled and see countless opportunities open up, but that wasn’t her experience.

I immediately felt panicked and unsure of what to do. I worried I’d never work again, and I kept dwelling on the fact that I hadn’t gone to college. Instead of feeling hopeful about the future, I was overwhelmed by negative thoughts.

Although she appeared to be a cheerful and outgoing British woman in public, she revealed privately that she was struggling deeply.

Despite winning a major competition, she felt deeply insecure and lacked self-worth. She explained that this was around the time she began to drink more, as it became her way of coping with difficult emotions. Everyone handles challenges differently, she added.

Driven by the pressure to be thin – a key standard in the competitive modeling industry – she developed bulimia, which quickly consumed her thoughts and actions.

I used to obsessively track calories. I’d think things like, ‘That piece of bread was about 200 calories, so now I only have 1,000 left for the day, which means I need to exercise to make up for it.’

I was always preoccupied with food, constantly calculating what I could and couldn’t eat. It completely dominated my thoughts, and I found myself obsessively watching what others were eating as well.

She described a cycle where she’d sometimes binge eat, like buying a large order of chicken nuggets, then feel sick and vomit. Afterward, she’d often repeat the process with ice cream, only to feel sick again.

It was truly awful. I remember the physical pain – my eyes would burst with strain, and it just felt terrible overall. I ended up collapsed on the bathroom floor, sobbing, stuck in this relentless loop of trying to lose weight. Honestly, it was a deeply miserable time for me.

People began to notice she wasn’t doing well, both physically and mentally. A leading talent agent even pointed out the visible changes, telling her she was losing hair, her skin was becoming pale, and her overall health was declining.

I used to focus on losing weight, constantly striving to be thinner. But I realized I just looked unwell. To address this, I sought help from a support agency and talked to them about it.

With so many people aware and supportive, this issue can finally be addressed and resolved.

Sophie explained that her struggles with food and body image started well before her time on reality television. She began modeling around age 15 or 16, and remembers her agent subtly warning her to watch her weight. ‘I didn’t fully grasp what she meant at the time,’ Sophie said, ‘but that might have been when I started restricting my eating.’

She also started to gain a reputation as someone who loved to party. As she explained, she often pushed her limits with drinking, finding that alcohol boosted her confidence and made her feel like good things were possible.

However, her drinking soon became harmful. She explained that they started prioritizing going out for drinks over auditions. Despite being told she was beautiful, her confidence plummeted, and she felt terrible about herself.

By the time she was in her mid-20s, after winning America’s Next Top Model, she was struggling with alcohol. She explained that she lost both her modeling and acting agencies, and essentially ruined her career through her own actions.

Even though she appeared on two popular modeling shows, she admits she didn’t understand mental health or addiction back then. She explained that when she was at her lowest point, she didn’t know where to turn for help or even that help was available.

She had a breakthrough unexpectedly, while taking an acting class. The instructor had been sober for twenty years, and after hearing her story, something finally made sense. She realized she needed to seek help.

She contacted someone she barely remembered mentioning struggles with addiction, and that person connected her with a support group. She started attending meetings and has been actively involved in the program for the past five years.

Sophie revealed she kept her sobriety a secret for two years, feeling deeply ashamed. She explained, ‘I felt like an outsider, wondering why I couldn’t just fit in and drink with everyone else at parties.’

She explained that getting better allowed her to rebuild her life, achieving everything she’d once dreamed of. ‘I now have a new agent, my green card, I’ve acted in a movie, and I’ve produced this project,’ she said. ‘I’ve finally done all the things I used to just talk about.’

She starts each day by writing in a journal, meditating, and getting outside – habits she’s found really helpful. As she explains, ‘Your mind can be your biggest challenge,’ and writing things down is her way of processing her thoughts and feelings.

She hopes that by sharing her experience, she can help others who are struggling privately. She described a particularly difficult time, saying, ‘It’s awful to feel completely stuck and unable to move, especially when you’re being so hard on yourself. You deserve better than the negative things you tell yourself.’

‘No one could hurt me more than I could hurt me.’

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2025-11-25 18:19