TikTok star Remi Bader is taking time to focus on her health.
On May 17, the content creator, known for her realistic clothing hauls, shared with her 2.1 million followers that she's entering a six-week outpatient program for binge eating.
"The past year and a half, I can't even explain how happy I am that I've gotten to the point where I am and that this is my life and that this is my job and I enjoy very much what I do every day. I really do," she began. "But the past few months I started feeling…things are getting worse for me of how I feel about myself, my body, my confidence. And obviously a lot of that has to do with my binge eating that I've said, back and forth, has gotten better, has gotten worse, but to be honest, has gotten to a point where it's not getting any better."
While Bader—who has been open about her battle with binge eating—noted her fans have been supportive of her stepping away from the camera, she said creating videos makes her feel happy and confident.
"I don't know why that is, that through a camera I feel better," the 26-year-old continued, "but it's more those feelings that I have about myself when I'm alone with myself: when I'm eating, when I'm getting ready to go somewhere, when I'm looking at myself. I should feel the best when I'm alone. I shouldn't feel the best just based on what other people are thinking about me and through this app."
@remibader Thanks for listening ??
? original sound - Remi Jo
She's getting started immediately, too. "I'll be eating there. I'll be participating in all their different therapies that they have, and I just want to be transparent with you that this is something that I can't share while I'm there for confidentiality reasons what is going on," Bader, who recently partnered with Revolve for a size-inclusive collaboration, said. "But I can share once I'm graduated from the program, and I'm really hoping that I have positive feedback for you guys where I can really feel better about myself and share everything I've learned with all of you."
After watching her video, several stars and content creators applauded her candor. "Thank you for being so transparent about this," Lili Reinhart wrote in the comments section. "Wish more people were like you. Please take care." Added Everything Delish's Jamie Milne , "Proud of you. We love you."
Bader's honesty is part of what has drawn in such a large following over the last few years, with the model, who was laid off from Tidal in 2020, never shying away from what she's dealing with in life.
"I started binging when I got stressed at my job, before I was on TikTok," she said in a February interview with The Local Optimist. "When I was working in the music industry and feeling stressed, I would come home and order like $50 worth of food and just eat it all. Afterwards I would cry and be so upset about it, and it just turned into this really scary phase that no one–my family or close friends–could understand."
Though originally something she kept private, she ultimately decided to share her journey with others. "I was nervous, like what are people going to think?" she told the website. "But once I did the first one, I never cared or thought about it again. I have always been a pretty open book and when I see that people care, want to learn more, and connect with me because they have similar issues, that makes me so happy. To be able to connect with people that understand–that's why I've continued to talk about it."
This includes being open about the ups and the downs. "I'm not in a place where I've overcome any of the food issues though, I'm still struggling," Bader continued. "I don't think I'm going to talk about binging as publicly right now because, a few weeks ago, I was like, 'Wow, I haven't binged in one month, I'm so happy,' and everyone was celebrating me. But then, over the past few weeks, I binged again. So it's like, what am I going to post now, just kidding? I'm so happy to open up about my struggles and share that with other people who get it, but maybe I don't need to post every detail about it for everyone's opinion, which isn't so helpful."