Sophie Turner Turned to Therapy After Being Pressured to Lose Weight During Game of Thrones

Actress said her "metabolism suddenly decided to fall to the depths of the ocean"

By Jamie Blynn May 03, 2019 5:37 PMTags
Sophie Turner, 2019 Billboard Music Award, Red Carpet FashionsKevin Mazur/Getty Images for dcp

Onscreen, as Game of Thrones' badass Sansa Stark, Sophie Turner seems invincible. After all, she's battled mystical White Walkers, bratty King Joffrey and the sadistic Ramsay Bolton. But, behind the scenes of the HBO drama, the actress has been fighting demons of her own.

"I have experienced mental illness firsthand and I've seen what it came do to the people around [the sufferers] as well," the star confessed to Marie Claire Australia for their June cover story. "My metabolism suddenly decided to fall to the depths of the ocean and I started to get spotty and gain weight and all of this was happening to me on camera."

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Game of Thrones Stars In & Out of Costume

When studio execs began putting pressure on her to drop pounds, she found solace in therapy. "Everyone needs a therapist, especially when people are constantly telling you you're not good enough and you don't look good enough," the Brit said. "I think it's necessary to have someone to talk to and to help you through that."

Last month, the 23-year-old opened up on Dr. Phil's podcast Phil in the Blanks about her "five or six" year battle with depression. "The biggest challenge for me is getting out of bed and getting out of the house," she revealed. "Learning to love yourself is the biggest challenge."

She added that negative comments on social media especially harmed her self-esteem. "I would just believe it," she said. "I would say, 'Yeah, I am spotty. I am fat. I am a bad actress.' I would just believe it. I would get [the costume department] to tighten my corset a lot. I just got very, very self-conscious."

Watch: Why Joe Jonas & Sophie Turner Got Married In Vegas

Today, she has something to smile about. Turner and love Joe Jonas exchanged vows on Wednesday in a surprise ceremony at a Las Vegas chapel. The following day, she stepped out in Los Angeles sporting a "Just Married" sash over a white sweatshirt. As a source told E! News, the newlyweds are "so excited to be together and to be married."