Ruth Lorenzo reveals battle with anorexia in moving TV interview

Spain’s Ruth Lorenzo sang “Dancing in the Rain” at Eurovision 2014. It was a song about perseverance and finding the courage to smile through the darkest of storms. Last night, following her appearance on the Spanish TV show Viajando con Chester (Travelling with Chester), the song seemed even more appropriate: Ruth revealed that she suffered from anorexia when she was nine years old. She also unveiled her latest video – “Patito Feo” (Ugly Duckling) – which she describes as the culmination of her life experiences.

The song is driven by plenty of pain and a desire to make things better. During the show she opened up about the most painful experiences in her life: her eating disorders, the divorce of her parents and the rise and fall and rebirth of her musical career. Ruth admitted that she is struggling with anorexia right now, but says she is managing the situation and has plenty of support. We wish her the best and hope she recovers soon. You’re perfect the way you are.

The interview, which you can watch here, was deeply emotional and the Spanish audience loved it: #ChesterRuth was the top trending topic in Spain last night, and the press subsequently praised her sincerity and bravery.

Ruth Lorenzo: Her battle with anorexia

Ruth explained that at the age of nine she found out that her father wasn’t her biological father. She believes that may have triggered her problems with anorexia. A year later, Ruth’s parents (her mother and her stepfather) divorced, and her mother decided to move the family to Utah. Ruth hid her illness during this time because she did not want to hurt her mother Eva any further.  

Why Utah? Because Ruth’s mother had previously converted to the Mormon faith and Utah is home to one of the biggest Mormon communities in the world. In fact, Ruth credits her mother’s conversion for saving Ruth’s life. When Eva fell pregnant with her fifth child, her husband had just left her and she already had four kids. She was traveling to France with the intention of having an abortion, but Mormon missionaries stopped her and convinced her to have the baby, who would later go on to become the amazing singer we all know today.

THE X FACTOR: RUTH’S RISE TO FAME

Ruth also spoke about her time on The X Factor in the United Kingdom. The show that launched her in the UK almost didn’t happen: Ruth was nearly left out of the final stages of the competition because she didn’t have her residence permit. In a very filmy move, the X Factor crew gave her 24 hours to produced all of her documents and guess what? She did!

THE FALL: AFTER THE X FACTOR

After the X Factor, Ruth landed a juicy contract with a major record label who offered her a recording contract, a house next to the Thames and £1,000,000. But Ruth felt that she wouldn’t be herself if she accepted the contract, so she turned it down, gave back the money, and began working on her own sound. “They wanted my first single to be called ‘Spin the bottle’. I came from singing ‘Purple Rain’ on stage, from putting all my soul in my performances: that thing wasn’t going to be me. I couldn’t see it, and as I didn’t see it, I left it”, the singer said.

The dark times followed, and lasted all the way until her appearance at Eurovision in 2014. At times she had to steal eggs to eat. “I had to go to the supermarket, buy some milk, and hide some eggs in my pocket,” she remembers. “Then I went outside the shop and the people stopped me to ask me for an autograph”.

Nevertheless, Ruth is now what she wanted to be: a singer who makes the music she wants. “I’m happy that I didn’t sign that contract. In fact, those of my mates who signed it are now what I didn’t want to be: finished”.

Ruth Lorenzo, on the other hand, went back to Spain and finished in the top 10 at Eurovision. And now her first album is selling rather well.

BACK ON TRACK: EUROVISION AND MUSIC SUCCESS

Ruth Lorenzo saw Eurovision as an opportunity to re-launch her career. And bless that opportunity! Ruth entered Spain’s NF and won (even if there was some drama along the way).

After Eurovision, Ruth’s album, “Planeta Azul” peaked at number 8 in Spain. Ruth has already released four singles, one of which was “Flamingos”. The video was released earlier this month.

If you loved Ruth dancing in the rain, you’ll love her dancing in a shady theatre . The singer gives us sultriness and passion in her video, and we just kneel before her!

The team at wiwibloggs were so moved by Ruth’s interview. We praise her courage and sincerity. It’s not easy to reveal such painful experiences on a TV show, but it’s so powerful when a public figure does. We are sending her all of our positive vibes and she fights her fight. We know she’s going to get better soon.

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