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Katie Couric: Opening Up About Bulimia Battle Was "Right Thing to Do"

Talk show host explains to E! News why she revealed her own history with an eating disorder while interviewing Demi Lovato

By Natalie Finn Oct 02, 2012 12:37 AMTags
Watch: Katie Couric on Battling Bulimia

Katie Couric is an expert at asking questions, but it turns out she's not bad at giving answers, either.

"I felt like it was absolutely the right thing to do," the Katie host tells E! News about her decision to open up about her own history with bulimia when Demi Lovato—who has talked frankly about battling an eating disorder—was a guest on her show.

"We were having an honest conversation," explains Couric. "So for me to harbor that kind of secret and not be upfront about it seemed kind of disingenuous."

"I wrestled with bulimia all through college and for two years after that," Couric revealed during Lovato's Katie appearance, which aired Sept. 24. "And I know this rigidity, this feeling that if you eat one thing that's wrong, you're full of self-loathing and then you punish yourself."

Asked whether the bombshell required a sit-down with her daughters afterward, Couric tells us that she had previously discussed those issues with Ellie, 21, and Carrie, 16.

"It wasn't something they heard about on television, or they would have been shocked to hear," she says.

To catch our complete interview with Katie Couric, tune in to E! News tonight at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. 

GALLERY: We can't get enough of Demi Lovato and her ever-changing look!