Geordie Shore’s Holly Hagan claims she is keen to promote a more realistic body image

Holly Hagan has revealed she wants to promote a more realistic body image on social media.

The Geordie Shore star, 28, reflected on how she struggled with her body image for years in an interview with Bobby Norris and Stephen Leng on Fubar Radio’s Access All Areas on Thursday. 

Looking back, she claimed: ‘It’s only in the past year or so that I actually thought, you know what? I do have this platform and I do really need to be very careful of what I’m showing. 

‘I want to be the person I needed to see growing up’: Geordie Shore’s Holly Hagan claimed on Thursday she is keen to promote a more realistic body image after struggling with her own

‘And I also need to be, I kind of need to be the person I needed to see growing up and become the person that I needed. So, I’ve started trying to be a bit more real and show the raw side.’

Holly claimed she was initially scared to post more realistic images because she had been trolled in the past by people who claim she just wants ‘likes or attention.’

‘You get anxious that people think you are just doing that for likes or attention,’ she said. ‘You kind of want to get that balance of being real, but it’s just so difficult because regardless of what you do, I’m sure you’ll agree, Bob, you get called for it anyway.’

Holly shot to fame at just 18 in the inaugural series of Geordie Shore in 2011, where she was cruelly bullied by fellow cast members and also viciously trolled. 

Concerns: Holly (pictured on Geordie Shore) claimed she was initially scared to post more realistic images because she had been trolled in the past for wanting 'likes or attention'

Concerns: Holly (pictured on Geordie Shore) claimed she was initially scared to post more realistic images because she had been trolled in the past for wanting ‘likes or attention’

Thoughts: Holly explained, 'It's only in the past year or so that I actually thought, you know what? I do have this platform and I do really need to be very careful of what I'm showing'

Thoughts: Holly explained, ‘It’s only in the past year or so that I actually thought, you know what? I do have this platform and I do really need to be very careful of what I’m showing’

Despite going on to win the hearts of both her fans and peers, her mental health recovery was far more trying as she battled to overcome her body issues. 

She said that now she’s keen to teach people that what they see on Instagram isn’t always the truth: ‘With all the trolling and everything that came with being on TV and whatever, I think now I’m just at a point where I’m like, do you know what? I need to show a more real side of me and that it’s not always good lighting. 

‘I know that when I pose for a photo that I’m posing in good lighting and I’m only showing the best parts of me.

‘Someone said to me, “How did you get your abs?” I said,”I don’t have abs, I’ve got good lighting. That’s all I have”. There is no abs here whatsoever. It is just good lighting. 

Helping others: Holly went on, 'I kind of need to be the person I needed to see growing up and become the person that I needed. So, I've started trying to be a bit more real'

Helping others: Holly went on, ‘I kind of need to be the person I needed to see growing up and become the person that I needed. So, I’ve started trying to be a bit more real’

Way back when: Holly shot to fame at just 18 in the inaugural series of Geordie Shore in 2011, where she was cruelly bullied by fellow cast members and also viciously trolled

Way back when: Holly shot to fame at just 18 in the inaugural series of Geordie Shore in 2011, where she was cruelly bullied by fellow cast members and also viciously trolled

‘And I think, if we can educate people that, actually, with good lighting and with this, and with that, you can look like this, but actually it’s okay not to. 

‘And it’s okay for the 99.9% of the time that you’re living your life that cellulite is okay, and that some jiggles are okay and it doesn’t actually matter.’

Holly added: ‘I think that the body that I’ve always wanted actually doesn’t exist. Because I’ve looked on magazines my whole life and airbrushing was a thing long before Instagram came about and everyone was airbrushed to the high heavens.’

‘You never saw anybody above a size eight on a magazine. The representation just wasn’t there. I mean, I’m even watching Vampire Diaries at the moment and they’re all literally a size four. 

Struggle: Holly reflected, 'The body that I’ve always wanted actually doesn't exist. Because I've looked on magazines my whole life and airbrushing was a thing long before Instagram'

Struggle: Holly reflected, ‘The body that I’ve always wanted actually doesn’t exist. Because I’ve looked on magazines my whole life and airbrushing was a thing long before Instagram’

‘And I think, we grew up watching these TV programmes and everyone was so thin that if you were anything other than that, anything other than perfect was seen as a bad thing.’

Holly has previously spoken about how her fiancé Jacob Blyth helped with her body image battles, which saw her starve herself and frequently go under the knife. 

She said: ‘My fiancé Jacob is an athlete, so his lifestyle is very healthy. He was a good influence on me. I was still struggling with bulimia when I met him and he was the one who made me see that what I was doing wasn’t normal….

Honest: Holly said she hopes she can help fans realise that 'cellulite is okay' and it's not a problem if there are 'some jiggles' as 'it doesn't actually matter'

Honest: Holly said she hopes she can help fans realise that ‘cellulite is okay’ and it’s not a problem if there are ‘some jiggles’ as ‘it doesn’t actually matter’

‘I’d never questioned it or looked at it in a bad way, so him teaching me that made me stop doing it pretty much straight away.’

On her well-documented struggles with her mental health, she went on: ‘I still get social anxiety but I haven’t had a panic attack in about 4.5 years.’

Last year, Holly lashed out at trolls after she was accused of being ‘too thin’ before discussing her delayed wedding plans.

She took to Instagram to share cruel comments from trolls, who claimed she ‘looked better chunky’, before quoting Britney Spears’ 2007 hit Piece Of Me: ‘You can’t win. Britney said it: ‘I’m Mrs she’s too big, now she’s too thin”. 

Happy days: Last month Holly revealed how her fiancé Jacob Blyth helped her overcome her eating disorder and change her approach to health

Happy days: Last month Holly revealed how her fiancé Jacob Blyth helped her overcome her eating disorder and change her approach to health