On yesterdays’ episode of Dancing with the Stars, Sasha Pieterse decided to open up about her health struggles over the last few years.
Pretty Little Liars star Pieterse has been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal imbalance that can affect women’s metabolism. It’s actually not so uncommon, as womenshealth.gov notes that between 5%-10% of women are diagnosed. But of course, it affects every woman differently, and in Sasha’s case, it caused a massive weight gain.
And for a while, she didn’t even know what had caused it and was cyberbullied by PLL fans.
“It was really, really hurtful the way people reacted. They were saying stuff like, ‘She’s pregnant.’ ‘You’re fat.’ They were angry, they were mad that I look like this. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through.”
Since being diagnosed, she’s been able to get medical help and been able to shed a few lbs.
“It’s not an easy road, but being able to focus on getting myself healthy again and the fact that I’m seeing results now and getting better is all I can ask for.”
And DWTS has certainly helped a lot — she’s even lost 15 pounds since starting the show!
“Most importantly, I’m feeling like me again.”
We’re so happy that Sasha is starting to feel happy and healthy again. And it’s just further proof that you never know what’s going on with someone, and to judge them merely based on appearance is ridiculous.
In addition to DWTS, Sasha is currently preparing forthe PLL spinoff, The Perfectionists, along with Janel Parrish. She told E!,
“Sara Shepard, who wrote PLL, also wrote this book series. It has nothing to do with PLL, they’re just kind of putting my character into it. It’s still a murder mystery and it’s a really interesting plotline. I don’t think I can say anything yet!”
Can’t wait!
