Chloe Lattanzi DWTS: Olivia Newton-John’s daughter on health battle - NEWS.com.au

Chloe Lattanzi has battled anorexia, substance abuse, depression, anxiety and body dysmorphia.

But the recently announced Dancing With The Stars contestant won’t let it define her any longer.

Speaking to Stellar, the daughter of Olivia Newton-John revealed she actually sought out a spot on the reality show in an effort to throw off the shackles of her earlier life.

“I want people to see me for who I am, not an illness I overcame,” she told Stella r during a break from rehearsals with dance partner Gustavo Viglio.

“I had a premonition that I needed to be on Dancing With The Stars. My mum knows Delta (Goodrem) and she connected me with her manager, and he got in touch with them. And they wanted me!”

Lattanzi – who has long expressed interest in a singing career – wants to establish an identity of her own in appearing on the show, she told Stellar, hoping it will help her step out from her mother’s shadow.

“It feels really good to be able to be my own person – to be Chloe Lattanzi and not Olivia Newton-John’s daughter,” she said.

“I’m my mum’s biggest fan, but she’s ready for me to be me, too.”

The 34-year-old has worked hard to beat her demons, telling Stellar she wanted to use her years of struggle to help others.

“I felt at certain times that I was never going to get out of that dark place,” she said.

“I hit rock bottom, so I want to be a beacon for anyone watching the show who is suffering. I want them to see that you can recover.

“People forget that I’m a legitimate singer and musician because my depression and anxiety have overshadowed that part of me.”

Lattanzi is Newton-John’s only child, from her first marriage to dancer Matt Lattanzi, who she met while filming Xanadu.

She was regarded by her parents as their “lucky egg”.

The couple wanted more children, but after several miscarriages, Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 and split with Lattanzi three years later.

Lattanzi has previously shared that the divorce, illness and fame contributed to her mental health difficulties over the years.

While appearing on US reality show Rock the Cradle in 2009, Lattanzi opened up about her early life.

“My mum travelled a lot so I think I missed out a lot when I was younger,” Lattanzi said.

“I’ve spent a lot of time alone in big houses. That was hard.

“I suffered from anorexia and that has been the darkest time in my life and I used music to express it and get through it.”

Newton-John, was also interviewed on the show and became emotional when she spoke about her daughter’s struggle with anorexia and drug addiction.

“She has had to battle this problem in front of the world, being judged and photographed by paparazzi, and it was hard,” said Newton-John, choking back tears.

But while she was once deeply critical of fame and its impact on her life, Lattanzi said she now understood it could be a platform for positive change.

After removing herself from Instagram, she’s returned to the platform, but is determined to manage her use.

“I got addicted to posting selfies and wondering if people liked me,” she admitted.

“Social media is good in certain ways, but it’s a sickness we all have. It’s guilty of creating narcissists, and for a little while I was guilty.”

In 2017, Lattanzi sparked concern over her appearance on Instagram when she posted a black and white photo of herself in a crop top and jeans.

The star deleted the photo soon after posting it, but put it up again with an emotional caption.

“OK I’m too skinny,” she wrote. “Say what you like. I can’t care anymore. I am in so much pain and one fun thing for me to do is take pictures and be creative to forget about my troubles.”

It came weeks after her 71-year-old Grease star mum announced her breast cancer return, an experience Latanzzi described as “profoundly painful”.

“I just got up off the floor,” she continued in the post. “I’ve been sobbing for an hour, feeling the collective energy of strangers all over the world weighing in on my family’s problems.

“Since I was born this has been my life.”

Latanzzi was thrust into the spotlight as a teenager when she sought treatment for her eating disorder.

“This life is also what I believe what made me sick,” she continued of her struggle.

“The anorexia, the depression. I’ve spent my life trying to please strangers. If I continue to do so I will die.”

In 2016, Newton-John similarly spoke of her daughter’s mental health battle during an appearance on 60 Minutes.

“I think it’s hard to be the child of a person in the limelight, I really understand that,” she said.

“There’s privilege but there’s also other things that come along with that.”

Touching on her years of plastic surgery, Lattanzi admitted it had been a “problem”.

She revealed she has had a breast augmentation, gets lip fillers and has Botox, but had fillers removed from her face because she looked “bizarre”.

“I had body dysmorphia so I couldn’t see myself clearly,” she said.

“I’m not against plastic surgery, but if I’m going to get anything done I’ll be transparent and post about it. I’ve got comments saying I’ve set an unrealistic standard for young girls and that makes me sad.”

She continued: “It’s hard because the wise part of me thinks you should be happy with what you’ve got, but the other part thinks, ‘Well, this is show business and you’ve got to look your best’.

“On Instagram, every girl has had work done.

“I can’t think of the last time I saw a natural face. And that puts a lot of pressure on all of us. “I want to be up to par, but I also want to be honest about feeling vulnerable about this. Then others might feel the same.”

For the full story, Stellar Magazine is available inside The Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Herald Sun and The Sunday Mail.

For more from Stellar, head to www.stellarmag.com.au

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