‘I thought ‘I have to do something about this”: Gary Barlow reveals he removed all mirrors in his house when his weight rose to 17.5 after Take That split
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Gary Barlow has said he removed all mirrors in his house when his weight hit 17.5 after Take That split and he was dropped by his solo label.
The singer, 51, became depressed during a difficult period in his career in the late 1990s and began binge eating and smoking cigarettes.
Speaking during his one-man theater show A Different Stage, seen by the Daily starGary realized he was getting constant nagging from audience members that fellow Take That member Robbie Williams had a more successful solo career than him.
Candid: Gary Barlow has told he removed all mirrors in his house when his weight hit 17.5 after Take That split and he was dropped by his solo label
The star said he then bought a new home and retired, spending much of his time eating junk food.
He said: ‘One morning I caught myself in the mirror and thought, ‘Oh no, I have to do something about this’. So I did, I removed all the mirrors – a huge house, not a single mirror.’
“I’ve come to 17-and-a-half stone, but it’s not just the work of chocolate, the real heavy lifting here is done a few times a week at the local Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet.”
Gary then said he came home from the Chinese one night and decided to make himself sick after eating so much.
Health: The singer, 51, became depressed during a difficult period in his career in the late 1990s and began binge eating and smoking cigarettes
Career: Gary revealed that he constantly chided members of the public that fellow Take That member Robbie Williams (left) had a more successful solo career than he (pictured in 1992)
He added: ‘I slipped into the bathroom and then two fingers as far back in the throat as possible and goodbye to Emperor’s Special… A year later I was a professional bulimia… I could get sick like that.’
Gary previously spoke candidly about his weight gain during a performance on Loose Women.
He said, “When I gained weight a lot, I hated myself.
“The moment I decided to lose weight, I wanted to see results and feel better. If the scales are, use them.”
Struggle: Gary said ‘I hated myself so much’ when he hit 17 stone in the years between Take That stardom and his solo career. (photo left in 2005 and right in 2021)
However, he went on to say that it’s important to maintain confidence during a weight struggle, advising, ‘I don’t believe in weighing yourself every day and beating yourself up. That’s not how the body works.’
“You couldn’t do anything wrong and be heavier, the body is a bit like the seasons. It changes throughout the year. So there may be some danger in that.”
Gary secretly battled bulimia after his band’s split, Take That, and previously admitted that he “tried to kill the pop star.”
He said ‘Nine years’ [I stopped singing]. I just turned my back on it. I tried to kill the pop star, that’s what I did.
“I ate away what a pop star looked like. I was just killing him. Stopped dyeing the hair, stopped buying nice clothes, just wanted to look the opposite, physically and mentally.’
Gary said: ‘One morning I caught myself in the mirror and thought, ‘Oh no, I have to do something about this’. So I did, I took down all the mirrors – a huge house, not a single mirror”