Olivia Ponton, linked to Joe Burrow, speaks about her struggle with anorexia: “I had never looked worse”

Olivia Ponton spoke publicly about one of the most difficult stages of her life. The model and influencer, romantically linked to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, shared a video on TikTok in which she said that she went through different eating disorders, including anorexia.

In her message, she challenged a widespread idea about body image: that stopping eating or achieving extreme thinness allows you to attain the desired physique. Her experience, she explained, was exactly the opposite.

Olivia Ponton's blunt reflection on anorexia

“Being anorexic, nine times out of ten, is not going to give you the body you seek or desire”, Ponton said in the video. The model spoke from her own experience and recalled how she looked during the most difficult period of her eating disorders.

“When I was going through the worst point of my eating disorders, I had never looked worse,” she said. With that statement, she questioned the association between extreme thinness and beauty that still persists in some circles.

Ponton also referred to the prejudices about the modeling industry. As she explained, there is this idea that those who need to maintain a certain appearance for work simply stop eating. She rejected that perception and assured that it is very far from reality.

A recovery that took years

Ponton also said that getting out of those eating patterns was a long process. As she explained, many years went by before she managed to feel better and build a healthier relationship with her body.

Her testimony takes on particular relevance because of the exposure that accompanies her work. The American developed a career as a model and influencer, has millions of followers on social media, and has appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.

In 2023, Ponton had already spoken about the impact of social media on her body image. In an interview on the podcast High Low with EmRata, she said that negative comments about her appearance, especially after posting bikini photos, influenced the way she began to see herself.

Her recent publication revisits that experience from another perspective: it not only speaks about the difficulties she went through, but also about the distance between the physical ideal she was pursuing and how she actually felt.

Olivia Ponton and Joe Burrow, a relationship under public scrutiny

The model also sparks interest because of her connection with Joe Burrow, quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals. The two were romantically linked in late 2024, although they have kept a low profile and do not usually share details of their private life.

Attention surrounding the couple has helped generate interest in Ponton's posts, but this time the focus of her message was different. The model used her social media to talk about her experience with eating disorders and to question the aesthetic pressure that can be hidden behind a public image.

By sharing her story, Ponton sought to convey a clear idea: anorexia does not lead to the physical appearance someone wants and can harm both health and a person's perception of themselves. Her recovery, she explained, took years; now she hopes that speaking openly about it can help other people.