The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Layla Taylor is opening up about her struggles with an eating disorder.
“For the past two years, I’ve been struggling silently with an eating disorder I believed I had left behind in high school,” Layla, 25, wrote via Instagram on Monday, March 16. “Far before I touched GLP-1s I’ve had my struggles. It’s been lonely and exhausting, fighting a battle in my own brain while trying to show up like everything is OK and recieve [sic] comments daily on my body. Recovery has been messy and far from linear. Some days feel strong, and others feel really heavy.”
She continued, “I’m still in treatment and no longer on the medication. I’m still learning how to choose self-love over self-criticism.”
While sharing two separate clips of herself in bikinis, Layla noted in her message that seeing her body “side-by-side is triggering.”
“But I’m still fighting — not just for me, but because my boys deserve a healthy, present mom. So grateful for those in my life that helped me through that low time,” she wrote. “Thank you for the kindness, grace, and support. It means more than you know ????.”
In the comments section of her post, Layla received support from her Mormon Wives costars.
“Beautiful inside and out,” Jessi Ngatikaura wrote, while Miranda Hope added, “so so SO proud of you lay????????.” Mikayla Matthews also noted, “❤️❤️❤️.”
Layla opened up about her eating disorder on season 4 of Mormon Wives, sharing that she had been using a weight loss medication. In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly ahead of the season premiere, Layla revealed that she was no longer on GLP-1s — which she admitted she used as a “crutch.”
“Obviously, not eating all day, you’re going to get hunger cues, and that’s the hard part about having an eating disorder, is that you still have those,” she said. “So I feel like the GLP-1 was a way to not enable the eating disorder, but in my head, it was a way to make an eating disorder more easy. It was just like an unhealthy crutch.”
She continued, “I’m glad that I don’t abuse that drug anymore. I’m not on it anymore because I still struggle with the body image issues, and that’s always going to be a problem, but at least I’m trying to manage it and not be on something that I knew was enabling it worse.”
If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, visit the National Alliance for Eating Disorders website or call their hotline at (866) 662-1235. Text “ALLIANCE” to 741741 for free, 24/7 support.
