Lili Reinhart is opening up about her mental health struggles.
In a new interview with Self Magazine, the 28-year-old actress, who starred as Betty Cooper on “Riverdale” from 2017 to 2023, was candid about the pressures Hollywood can bring and her battle with body dysmorphia.
“I really don’t like looking at season six imagery or pictures, because I know that 99 percent of my thoughts were about my body,” said Reinhart, who landed her breakthrough role at 19. “I was a thousand percent just disassociated through that entire day or scene because my entire inner dialogue is just … ‘Your body’s changing.’”
“It was really hard to keep up, but I did,” she added of keeping up with the hustle and bustle of show business. “I didn’t have a choice, and I’ve always just showed up and done my job.”
Reinhart has been an avid advocate for mental health awareness throughout the years, and she recently spoke more toward her own experience at the White House in 2024.
“That’s the ironic thing that people don’t see,” she told Self. “I’m literally in Washington, D.C., at the White House giving a speech on mental health. And then that same night, I am sobbing, in so much discomfort, and feel so defeated.”
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In 2019, Reinhart admitted that while her depression is a constant battle, she’s learned healthy coping mechanisms throughout the years.
“Depression has affected me in so many ways. It’s something that never goes away,” she told Glamour UK at the time. “I have spells of time where I feel completely unmotivated, I don’t want to do anything, and I question myself. I don’t know how to handle stress very well. I find that talking about it and sharing my experience with other people, and reminding myself that I’m not alone has been incredibly therapeutic.”
“Seeing the therapist allowed me to be understood. The goal for me has been to always leave therapy feeling a couple of inches taller. Feeling like I’ve alleviated myself of a problem by learning how to solve it,” the “Hustlers” star added.
“Not everything has a straight answer – it’s not just going to take one session – but I start to think, ‘I’ve grown, I’ve done this, I’ve figured this out, now I can go off into the world and try to put what I’ve learned into action.’ That’s how I look at therapy. I am not crazy, and I am not problematic. I am just a human who’s feeling something in a different way than some other people would,” added Reinhart.
In 2023, Reinhart shared her concerns over Hollywood’s obsession with body image and how it has impacted her.
“I wish there were more average-sized arms represented in mainstream media for women,” the actress wrote on X, (formally Twitter). “My body dysmorphia has been going crazy because I feel like my arms need to be half the size they are currently? We’ve glamorized these skinny arms that, for most of us, can only be achieved if you’re a literal adolescent.”
“I truly wonder how anyone survives or gets through this life without having severe BD. Maybe it’s a cruel amplified version in combination with my OCD, but damn. The amount of time I’ve wasted thinking about my arms in the last few months is insane,” she added.
These days, Reinhart said she’s content with where she is in her mental health journey.
“I feel strong and happy about the mental health advocacy that I’ve done, and I feel happy that I’m about to bring physical health into that conversation, because I know that getting help for women over the next four years is going to be exponentially more difficult,” she told Self. “Listen to your body, and don’t take no for an answer. Don’t let a doctor tell you that nothing’s wrong when you know that there is.”
