Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow’s girlfriend Olivia Ponton has candidly opened up on her struggles with eating disorders.
The model, who has been dating the quarterback for around two years, didn’t hold back as she bared all to her followers at the weekend.
Ponton, who has posed for Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, revealed that she has struggled with ‘many forms’ of eating disorders in the past.
‘Being anorexic, nine times out of 10, is not going to give you the body that you’re craving, nor desiring. And as someone who has struggled with many, many, many forms of eating disorders, specifically anorexia, I want to talk about this,’ Ponton said in a TikTok video shared on Saturday.
She went on to explain that many people believe that models or others who need to look a certain way for their professions do not eat before dispelling the claim, insisting that it ‘couldn’t be further from the truth.’
‘When people think that you are anorexic, it automatically means that you’re going to be the skinniest, and look the best that you’ve ever looked. Example for me, when I was going through the height of my eating disorders, I have never looked worse,’ Ponton added.
Olivia Ponton has candidly opened up on her past struggles with eating disorders
The model has been dating Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow for around two years
In a TikTok, Ponton revealed that she has struggled with ‘many forms’ of eating disorders
Reflecting on her own personal journey, Ponton said that she has never felt better since managing to overcome her struggles.
She said that she now believes that when she was going through the height of her eating disorders she ‘never looked worse.’
‘And trust me when I say that took many many many years to get to,’ she added.
Ponton went on to explain that the reason she feels the need to talk about eating disorders is to hopefully help others.
‘I wish there was somebody out there when I was going through my eating disorders that I was actively following that was talking, “Hey, just because you’re doing this, it’s not going to get you the results that you are wanting,”‘ she said.
Ponton’s candid admission comes after she also recently revealed that she had been cheated on in the past – something she no longer tolerates.
‘I have been cheated on in all of my past relationships. Literally every single one of them. All of them,’ Ponton said.
She admitted that she used to ‘beat herself up’ about her past partners’ infidelity, claiming that she believed it was the result of her not being good enough.
The 24-year-old has previously posed for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
Ponton said that she has never felt better since managing to overcome her struggles
However, Ponton shared that as she has grown older she no longer blames herself, turning the blame on her unfaithful partners.
‘I think cheating is a sign of insecurity. If you feel the need to be in a happy, healthy relationship with somebody, and go to get outside validation that you are attractive, that is not a reflection of this perfectly great person that could be in your life. That is a reflection on them,’ Ponton said. ‘That’s my hot take.’
Ponton and Burrow were first romantically linked after she reported a home burglary at his property to 911 in October 2024, sparking dating rumors.
At a press conference in the days that followed, Burrow said: ‘I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one, and way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share so that’s all I got to say about that.’
Since then, however, the pair have kept under the radar with few public outings together, though she’s been spotted by his side this year at the Kentucky Oaks horse race, cheering him on at the Fanatics Flag Football Classic and heading to a Met Gala afterparty.
She’s also seemingly been stepping up her rumored relationship with Burrow, making a rare public appearance with the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback at training camp ahead of this season.
Ponton and Burrow, however, have not publicly confirmed their relationship.
