Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s girlfriend, Olivia Ponton, has spoken candidly about her past struggles with eating disorders.
The model, who has been dating Burrow for around two years, opened up to her followers over the weekend, offering an honest account of her experience.
Ponton, who has appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, said she had battled “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 also challenged the assumption that models and other professionals expected to maintain a certain appearance simply stop eating. Ponton said that belief “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,” Ponton said. “For me, when I was going through the height of my eating disorders, I have never looked worse.”
Olivia Ponton has spoken openly about 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 had struggled with “many forms” of eating disorders
Looking back on her recovery, Ponton said she has never felt better since overcoming the difficulties she faced.
She reiterated that, despite what some people may assume, she believes she “never looked worse” during the period when her eating disorders were at their most severe.
“And trust me when I say that took many, many, many years to get to,” she added.
Ponton said she chose to share her story in the hope that speaking publicly about eating disorders could help others facing similar challenges.
“I wish there was somebody out there when I was going through my eating disorders that I was actively following who was talking and saying, ‘Hey, just because you’re doing this, it’s not going to get you the results that you are wanting,’” she said.
Ponton’s comments came after she recently revealed that she had been cheated on in previous relationships—something she said she no longer accepts.
“I have been cheated on in all of my past relationships. Literally every single one of them. All of them,” Ponton said.
She said she once blamed herself for her former partners’ infidelity, explaining that she believed it happened because she was not good enough.
The 24-year-old has previously appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
Ponton said she has never felt better since overcoming her struggles
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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.