ELLEN REED ‘I WAS BULLIED FOR MY WEIGHT’
For All Together Now judge and former Voice grand finalist Ellen Reed, weight has always been at the forefront of her mind. “It began when I was bullied in high school by a group of students who got their kicks from bullying the chubby music geek with curly hair,” she admits to New Idea. “I could tell you a million stories about the cruel ways I have been told I’m overweight.”
But, there is one experience that stands out in her mind. At 18 years of age she decided to try out for a reality singing show, but the judges’ comments took their toll. “They tore strips off me, not because of my voice but about the way I looked,” she recalls.
“I let their words get to me and I fell into a bit of a depression. Within two weeks, I cut off my waist-length curly hair and over the next few months, I put on 30kg and became the fat girl they had told me I was.”
It was at that point that Ellen knew she had to do something about her weight. She began to attend Inspire-cycle classes at her gym, and after discovering that she had coeliac disease, she completely overhauled her diet.
As a result, she lost the 30kg and now feels more confident than ever. “My fitness has improved out of sight,” she says. “I am feeling stronger and fitter than ever on stage and can now keep up with my long gigs and performances.”
It took her 10 years to audition for another role on television. But she ended up scoring a spot on The Voice in 2016 and made it all the way to the grand finals.
Now a judge on All Together Now, the singer admits that the industry is changing. “Being a part of All Together Now, and seeing how the judges and crew treat each other, and the contestants, with so much love, respect and encouragement, I can definitely see the world is slowly changing.”