James ‘Arg’ Argent says his cocaine and eating binges were fuelled by people mocking him over his size.
The ‘Only Way is Essex’ star – who admitted over the weekend that he is a cocaine addict – turns to food if he dislikes the way he looks, and admitted he used to take drugs all night, followed by fast food binges all day after being made fun of in what was a "a never-ending tale of destruction".
He said: "All this p**s-taking and the abuse I was receiving on social media was hurting me inside.
"People would say to me, ‘You’ve been binge-eating on drugs but supermodels take cocaine to stop themselves from eating. Surely you should be skinny like a rake, not the biggest you’ve ever been.’
"But that’s part of my vicious cycle.
"I’d feel down so I’d start using drugs at 9pm until 6am, not eating a thing.
"Then I’d wake up, feel low and be absolutely starving and I would binge on everything from fizzy drinks, burgers, fast food, crisps, snacks, pizzas, takeaways to the point where I couldn’t possibly eat any more to feel better.
"Then I’d look in the mirror, see I’m the biggest I’ve ever been, then think, ‘When is a suitable time for a dealer to drop me off?’
"It was a never-ending tale of destruction."
But Arg has now slimed down from 23-and-a-half stone to 18-and-a-half stone, and he feels "so much better" in himself.
However, when he joined ‘TOWIE’ back in 2013, Arg admitted he used to take "a battering" over his weight, with some dubbing him "Large Arg".
He added to The Sun newspaper: "When I was on screen I was looking at myself at times and I felt ugly compared to the rest of the ‘TOWIE’ cast.
"I was constantly getting bantered about the way I looked and people taking the p**s out of my weight, calling me ‘Large Arg’ or the ‘tubby crooner’ on social media.
"I got a lot of love but I also took a battering."
Arg’s latest comments come after he admitted he hit "rock bottom" during a near-fatal drug overdose in October 2019.
Fortunately, he was rescued from potential tragedy by his girlfriend Gemma Collins.