“Love Is Blind” star Hannah Jiles is getting candid about her weight loss journey.
Jiles, who appeared on Season 7 of the Netflix reality series, revealed she had liposuction shortly before entering the pods on the dating show.
“I got down to 175 before the show. And I had gotten liposuction too, maybe, a year [or] a year and a half before the show on my lower abdomen, my back and my neck, thinking, ‘These are things that I don’t like, let’s change them,’” she told Us Weekly in an interview published Tuesday.
“I think when you watch the show, I was already on a journey. I’ve always struggled with my weight, my entire life. Whether I was skinny or whether I was heavier, I just had problems. I like to eat. I like to binge eat. I don’t like working out.”
Jiles’ health and wellness journey began when she “gained a lot of weight” during the coronavirus pandemic. She said she weighed 220 pounds at her heaviest.
“I was just feeling sorry for myself and never did anything about it, essentially,” she said.
After she started eating healthier and working out, Jiles began noticing positive changes in her physical and mental health.
“After the show, I was just like, ‘OK, I do love myself, but I do think I could be fitter and healthier. I can be better and feel better,’” she said.
“I eat to cope. After the show, I realized a lot of things. I got on anxiety medication, which I think really helped me. I don’t have as much anxiety, so I’m not anxiously eating.”
When Jiles — who said she now weighs 145 pounds — began showing off her figure on Instagram as Season 7 began streaming in October, many people speculated she had taken Ozempic to achieve her weight loss.
“I tried Ozempic in the spring. It was the generic version. I don’t know what it’s called, but I tried it for two weeks-ish,” she said.
“And for me, unfortunately, it just made me too sick. I couldn’t do it. It made me nauseous and made me want to vomit. I couldn’t eat food. I was like, ‘I’d rather be heavier than do this.’ But I think it’s an amazing thing. And if it didn’t make me sick, I definitely would’ve taken it, but I just couldn’t.”
Even though she’s still not a big fan of exercise, Jiles said she does attend a Pilates classes “every now and then” and she’s “more cautious” about her food choices.
“It’s nothing crazy that I’ve done,” she said. “Also, I’m a lot happier. And I think that really helps.”
