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Andrea Brillantes opens up about her battle with bulimia: ‘Ilang taon na ako nag-struggle’

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Rhea Manila Santos

Joining the rest of Kapamilya celebrities like Jessy Mendiola and Beauty Gonzalez who have gone public with their past struggle with eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia, Click, Like, Share actress Andrea Brillantes said she has made it her advocacy to try and portray roles onscreen that help spread awareness on the issue. She opened up about her role as Beth which mirrored her physical and emotional struggles with bulimia nervosa during the recent Click, Like, Share mediacon.<div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2020/1/31/fresh-scoops/emotional-beauty-gonzalez-im-the-healthiest-iv-12966">READ: Emotional Beauty Gonzalez: ‘I’m the healthiest I’ve been now in my life’</a></div>“Ang title ng series namin ni Nio (Tria) ay Poser kasi si Beth she struggles with bulimia nervosa. Meron siyang eating disorder kasi she was overweight before kaya nagkaroon siya ng struggles with her self-image. Kaya nung meron siyang nagustuhan na guy, feeling siya hindi siya gusto, feeling niya hindi siya matatanggap kasi hindi rin niya tanggap sarili niya.“Feeling niya she’s not beautiful enough kahit she lost weight na. Kaya nung may nahanap siya na app na YouMorphMe, ginawa niya yung way para gumawa ng fake self niya at yun naman si Lily. Ginamit niya yung app na yun para mang-catfish kasi feeling niya yun lang yung way para matanggap siya.“Actually hindi ko pa ito napag-uusapan pero naka-relate ako kay Beth on her struggle with an eating disorder. Pero never ako gumawa ng fake persona. Pero naramdaman ko yung struggle niya kung bakit hindi siya worthy na ipakita yung sarili niya sa mga tao,” she shared.<div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2021/5/12/fresh-scoops/why-andrea-brillantes-told-her-mom-she-was-pregnan-193375">READ: Why Andrea Brillantes told her mom she was pregnant when she cut her hair short</a></div>Aside from developing an eating disorder at a young age, the now 18-year-old actress also had to deal with having an acne problem.“Nag-struggle din ako sa acne pero hindi siya actually masyado alam ng mga tao kasi palagi ako naka-makeup. Sa Kadenang Ginto bago ako pumunta sa set iiyak muna ako sa kotse kasi ang dami kong pimples. Kapag kinakausap ako hindi ako tumitingin kasi nahihiya ako. Na-overcome ko yan sa mismong Kadenang Ginto rin kaya sobrang nagpapasalamat ako sa show na yun kasi hindi lang siya naging trabaho sa akin. Lahat ng staff, cast, crew naging family. Sila ang bumuo sa akin.“Para sa akin napakalaking bagay para ma-overcome mo yung mga ganung klaseng depression, eating disorder, malaking bagay na meron kang suporta sa mga totoong tao na nagmamahal sa iyo. Pero kinuha ko rin yung lakas na yun sa sarili ko. Hindi yun overnight. Ilang taon na ako nag-sa-struggle and ngayon nasasabi ko na okay na ako,” she revealed.<div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2021/4/20/fresh-scoops/andrea-brillantes-on-love-team-partner-seth-fedeli-192941">READ: Andrea Brillantes on love team partner Seth Fedelin: ‘Mas nag-mature siya’</a></div>Andrea said she collaborated closely with Click, Like, Share director Manny Palo with the development of her role. “I was very lucky na tinanggap nila direk yung sinabi ko kasi gusto ko talagang episode ko ay maka-reach mga bata babae, lalake na napagdaanan yung pinagdaanan ko na yung iba na nagkaroon ng eating disorder or naging insecure dahil sa unrealistic beauty standards ng generation namin ngayon. Kaya sobrang lucky na nagawa ko yung episode na yun kaya na-check na,” she said. Click, Like, Share is produced by iWantTFC and ABS-CBN Entertainment in association with Dreamscape Entertainment and Kreativ Den. Watch Click, Like, Share starting on June 5 on KTX.ph, iWantTFC, and TFC IPTV and soon on Upstream.

‘Click, Like, Share’ actress Andrea Brillantes talks about playing a character onscreen with the same eating disorder as her.