[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Heather Morris got real about how her Glee co-star and longtime friend Naya Rivera helped her out during a difficult time in her life.
During an appearance on the And That’s What You REALLY Missed podcast on Thursday, the 35-year-old revealed she had developed an eating disorder years ago during their time on the show. She told hosts and former castmates Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale:
“I had developed an eating disorder. I stopped getting my period. I was so in my head about food and what it was doing for me.”
Things only worsened for Heather when the Fox series became so popular, and the cast went on tour in 2010. It reached the point where she would refuse to eat any of the food served to everyone during the tour!
Related: Heather Claims Jennifer Lopez Cut Dancers Based On Their Zodiac Signs!
Her actions soon caught the attention of Naya — who boldly followed Heather into her dressing room in order to confront her about what was going on. The former Dancing With the Stars contestant recalled:
“I can’t remember exactly what she was saying, but she was approaching me about my eating disorder because I know she herself had eating disorders, and she was very open about it in her book. So she of course was the first to speak up about it.”
However, Heather wasn’t very receptive to the conversation in the moment. The mom of two remembered blowing “it off” and reassuring her friend she was fine. After the discussion, the two pals ended up never talking about her eating disorder again. Naya never pressed her — but Heather never forgot, either. Looking back at the moment, Heather said she knows now that the Sorry singer had nothing but good intentions about confronting her:
“That’s who she was. She was just always ready to talk about it.”
Jenna then added:
“To face things head on.”
Wow…
Naya clearly was beloved by many of her cast members and had been a great friend to them over the years — right up until her tragic death two years ago from an accidental drowning during a boat ride with her son. Since then Heather specifically has taken a moment to honor her several times on social media. Most recently, the star – who portrayed cheerleader and Naya’s BFF and eventual love interest Brittany S. Pierce on Glee — paid tribute to the fallen star on Instagram on the second anniversary of her passing. Alongside some old pictures of the pair together, she wrote:
“Everyday my angel. I miss you every damn day.”
We applaud Heather for opening up about a difficult subject like this. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via FayesVision/WENN, WENN/Avalon]