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Reply With QuoteI hope she does well.
I cannot stand to throw up! I would do anything to avoid it.
Claire Richards from Steps opens up about eating disorder
I felt totally repulsed by the greasy burger... all I could think was I have to get this out of me': Claire Richards reveals her desperate battle with bulimia
By Sarah Fitzmaurice
PUBLISHED: 12:18, 23 June 2012 | UPDATED: 12:45, 24 June 2012
She has opened up about crippling depression which left her house-bound for years after quitting Steps.
Now Claire Richards has revealed how low she sank in the grip of an eating disorder while she was part of the group.
Writing in her autobiography All Of Me, which has been serialised in The Sun, Claire has been frank about her warped relationship with food and her dependance on dangerous slimming pills.
Shocking revelations: Claire Richards has spoken out about how she struggled in the grip of an eating disorder while she was in Steps in the late 90s
Claire, who is now a size 16 and happy with her shape, remembers one particularly painful experience when she was appearing on a children's TV show in the states.
The blonde star, 34, explained how the group were taken to a burger restaurant where she had no choice but to eat some fast food.
She said: 'As soon as I'd finished it, I started panicking. I rushed back to where we were filming, found the toilets and stuck my fingers down my throat to try and make myself throw up. All I could think was, "I have to get this out, I can't get on stage with this inside me.'
Not healthy: Claire has revealed how she would make herself sick after meals, seen here at the height of the bands fame in 2000
'I felt totally repulsed by the greasy burger I'd just swallowed. I must have been in the toilet for ages because the burger just wouldn't come up.'
Claire has also admitted that she became so obsessed with losing weight she turned to slimming pills.
She noted: 'It was a fit of desperation. They had ephedrine in them, which boosts your metabolic rate, helps burn fat and suppresses appetite.'
But the effects of the stimulant were not pleasant and the singer began bizarre behaviour baking cakes and cookies at 5am in the morning.
In a happy place: The 34-year-old singer, who is now 34, has said she is comfortable with her size 16 shape
She explained: 'It was like a production line in my kitchen. Who does that when they're taking slimming pills? I was literally off my head on slimming pills.'
Claire's issues may well have been ignited when she was told she was too fat as she auditioned for a place in the band alongside Lisa Scott-Lee, Faye Tozer, Lee Latchford-Evans and Ian Watkins.
She explained: 'Before I got into the band I was made to promise I would lose weight. I was 10 stone at the time - not big especially as I'm 5ft 6in.'
'I had no idea those comments about my weight would come to haunt me during my time in Steps.'
The blonde star has also spoken of how being in the five-piece 'destroyed what little confidence I had', leaving her struggling to find her identity once they disbanded.
Although Claire left the Tragedy stars because she was unhappy, she was surprised to find her mood didn't improve once she was a free agent.
Happier now: Steps singer Claire Richards has conquered the depression she suffered after Steps split
Tense times: Claire with her Steps bandmates Lee Latchford-Evans, Ian 'H' Watkins, Faye Tozer and Lisa Scott-Lee in their heyday
Claire¿s autobiography, All Of Me, is published by Sidgwick & Jackson on July 5
She said: 'When I left the band it was because I couldn’t cope any more. But then I had nothing to fill the space Steps had left.
'I couldn’t cope. For four years I barely went out. I don’t think I had a breakdown but I was so embarrassed about people seeing me - worried what they would stay.'
As she got used to her new life out of the spotlight, she admitted her depression grew and she found it difficult to leave her house.
She said: 'I was depressed. I’d stay in bed until lunchtime, then lie on the sofa watching TV.
'I went into reverse dieting. I’d buy a pack of cakes for four and eat the lot. It was like I was grieving.'
Claire sang many of the lead vocals in Steps during her five years with the pop group before they split on Boxing Day 2001.
She went on to form a duo with Steps bandmate Ian 'H' Watkins, but they disbanded after 2003 after two years together.
She also had a difficult first marriage to deal with.
Claire married her first husband, Steps dancer Mark Webb in 2003, but they split in 2005.
However, she found happiness in May 2007, when she gave birth to her first child Charlie and married his father, former publicity manager Reece Hill in 2008. Their daughter Daisy followed a year later.
Steps put their differences behind them to reunite last year.
Claire’s autobiography, All Of Me, is published by Sidgwick & Jackson on July 5.
Read more:
I hope she does well.
I cannot stand to throw up! I would do anything to avoid it.
I didn't start out to collect diamonds, but somehow they just kept piling up.-Mae West
They were such a Z list group but it's true she did take most of the vocals.
I hated Steps so much. They were pretty successful though.
Im sure I saw a doco she did on her weight issues...where she lost weight for her wedding. Got down to a 10 or something like that.
I remember that. It was called "My Big Fat Wedding" or something. On BBC 3.
I'm not familiar with her, but her face is much prettier with a bit of weight on her.
“What are you looking at, sugar-tits?” - Mel Gibson
'I would have sex anywhere and everywhere': Claire Richards opens up about her wild love life in tell-all book
By Fehintola Betiku
PUBLISHED: 12:43, 25 June 2012 | UPDATED: 15:57, 25 June 2012
She has revealed that she suffered from crippling depression which left her housebound for years after quitting Steps and how low she sank in the grip of an eating disorder while she was part of the group.
Now Claire Richards has opened up about her wild love life and her and how having sex in cars used to leave her covered in bruises.
Writing in her autobiography All Of Me, which has been serialised in The Sun, Claire has revealed how she once had sex at the Top Of The Pops studio and enjoyed a brief dalliance with Dane Bowers.
Wild child: Claire Richards has admitted in her book that she once had sex at the Top Of The Pops studio
Reminiscing about the days when her and her now husband Reece Hill were just dating, the Steps singer told of the times when they used to get frisky in the back of his tiny MG sports car.
She said: 'Reece and I would have sex anywhere and everywhere. We were at it like you wouldn’t believe and when I look back now you’d never think we were the same couple!'
The 34-year-old even admitted that they regularly had sex in the car park of Hillingdon Tube Station and in dressing rooms whilst backstage at gigs - including Top Of The Pops.
Shocking: Claire told that she cheated on her first husband Mark Webb and shared a night with Dane Bowers
Admitting that she had never been in a hurry to lose her virginity, Claire told how being self-conscious about her image affected her confidence and she found it difficult to meet guys.
But that all changed when she met Reece who at the time was Steps' publicity manager and expecting his first child with his girlfriend.
Looking back on it now Claire explained: 'I convinced myself that I was fine with the fact that he’d had a baby, but in reality it felt constantly as though I’d had the wind sucked out of me. It was the worst feeling in the world'. Sooooo..... not because he was cheating on her with you then? Niiiice!
Happily family: After the breakdown of her first marriage Claire was reunited with her first love Reece Hill
Despite the fact that Hill was in a relationship Claire still pursued him and eventually their affair was found out which led to him losing his job. Hope it was worth it.
Claire's autobiography, All Of Me, is published by Sidgwick & Jackson on July 5
Not long after Claire and Reece separated Surprise! So that didn't work out for you then.... and the singer began dating Steps' dancer Mark Webb.
In her book she told how she had drunkenly told Mark she loved him and failed to fall for any of his romantic gestures even after they became husband and wife.
Claire wed Webb in 2003 but they split in 2005 after she cheated on him with Dane Bowers and fell into depression.
On her brief fling with Bowers, she revealed although they never had sex she said they kissed and had 'a bit of a fumble'.
However even though she tried to work things out with her husband they soon started living apart and it was during this period she was reunited with her first love Reece Hill.
She told of how she invited Reece over to her place and after a rendezvous she wanted out of her marriage to Webb and confessed that she had been unfaithful.
The mother of two said: 'I was fine with saying I’d committed adultery because technically I had.' Technically? Ok then.
Following on from that in May 2007 she gave birth to her first child Charlie and married Reece Hill in 2008; their daughter Daisy followed a year later.
Claire's autobiography, All Of Me, is published by Sidgwick & Jackson on July 5
Read more: Claire Richards tells all about her wild love life | Mail Online
I don't know who this chick is, but reading all that makes her sound like an insufferable bitch. Some things are better left unsaid, honey.
My Posts Have Won Awards. Can Any Of You Claim The Same? -ur_next_ex
"I don't have pet peeves. I have major psychotic fucking hatreds, okay". ~George Carlin
You may not know her but you've summed her up, IMO. All of Steps were pretty insufferable people.Originally Posted by MrsDark
Why do those people who expierenced nothing special at all, feel the need to write a book (ok, for the money)?!
But how old is she?The 34-year-old singer, who is now 34, has said she is comfortable with her size 16 shape
"Helicopters hovered over her mansion and a band of Chihuahuas was seen on her patio barking at all the action. "
"Welcome to the board, Asshole!" Twitchy 2.0
Waterslide (A day one fan of Air Quotes)
She looks way bigger than a size 16
Those grey skinny jeans are incredibly unflattering.. and pairing it with flat ankle boots?
Girl please!
it's like a combo of all things meant for a tall, super slim person.
A US size 16 maybe since she's 5'6" (allegedly).She looks way bigger than a size 16
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