Loose Women star Linda Robson has opened up about a hidden health issue that’s impacted her life for decades.
The ITV star has been an open book when it comes to her personal life.
However, there’s one struggle she’s kept out of the limelight – until now.
In a new interview, Linda has shared a health issue that has had a massive impact on her personal life for years.
Ever since she can remember, the TV star has been battling with her varicose veins.
Loose Women: Linda Robson on her debilitating health condition
“My sister, who has varicose veins, just gets on with it, but because I am in the public eye I’ve never felt right about mine,” she told The Mirror.
Linda appeared in I’m A Celebrity in 2012.
She’s confessed that during her time on the ITV show she allowed her worries about her veins to impact her.
Linda says that she confided in fellow star Charlie Brooks, who helped her mask her health issue while she showered in the jungle.
In her early fifties, Linda paid to have a course of microsclerotherapy done.
The procedure involves injecting the veins with a chemical that makes them shrivel up and disappear. However, it’s not a permanent solution as it doesn’t prevent newer veins from appearing.
Things improved temporarily. However, Linda admitted a Loose Women campaign really drained her confidence.
“We were shooting billboard posters for this Body Stories campaign. First I was looking at Kaye Adams, who has the legs of an 18-year-old. Then we all started looking over at Frankie Bridge saying: ‘I ain’t standing next to her.'”
Linda continued: “I felt like a big Oompa Loompa and so much more self-conscious about my body, particularly my veiny legs than I had the first time we’d shot the Body Stories campaign before Frankie joined the show.”
Star fought to get her confidence back
As a result, Linda decided to undergo a second course of microsclerotherapy.
Linda added that the procedure was a “real boost” to her self-esteem following her publicised breakdown in 2018.
She shared that at the time, while her OCD was “at its peak,” one thing that wasn’t bothering her was her veins.
In August of this year, Linda went on a family holiday to Cyprus.
While she would have normally been crippled by her self-esteem, Linda managed to enjoy her time away and didn’t think twice about spending time by the pool.
‘It sent me a bit mad’
Meanwhile, earlier this year Linda admitted to turning to drinking and self-harming during the “worst time of my life”.
“I got put on some medication that sent me a bit mad. I got put on a certain drug which was supposed to help my depression and that, but it didn’t,” she said on Loose Women.
“It just heightened it, so I had to go to three different establishments. It was the worst time in my life. I completely ruined my family’s life.”
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