Katrina Patchett has not had an easy life! In her autobiographical book titled “Mon corps, mon combat,” released on February 11 by Fayard editions, the dancer opened up like never before. She revealed that she had long suffered from bulimia, an eating disorder that has disrupted her life. “I started actually making myself vomit at the age of 15,” she confided to Purepeople. It was due to a lot of criticism in the dance world and circumstances in her life. It worsened gradually. At the beginning, it was after every meal. (…) I would eat my three meals a day and then immediately go to empty myself. The disease was triggered by her desire to lose weight because of the criticism. But quickly, the dancer lost control to the point of putting her life in danger.
Katrina Patchett opens up about her painful breakup with Valentin D’Hoore
But bulimia is not the only challenge that Katrina Patchett has had to face. Indeed, the dancer, who appeared on Danse avec les stars, struggled greatly with her breakup with Valentin D’Hoore. A relationship that lasted eight years and during which the couple even got married on September 1, 2017. However, they eventually separated and divorced in 2020. In “En privé avec,” from Purepeople, the Australian dancer reflects on this difficult moment in her life. “It’s almost worse than a breakup. With Valentin, we didn’t split up due to lack of love, it’s that there was a final point in our path. We got to a point where we couldn’t stand each other anymore but we didn’t want to hate each other because there was still love, so we preferred to separate instead of hating each other, and that’s what’s very tough,” she explains. “When you still love the person. So it’s worse than a breakup because the person is still there, it’s just that you can’t stand to see them,” she concludes. A challenge that is now behind her, as the partner of Maxime Dereymez has found love again. Just like Valentin D’Hoore, who became a father with the model Karen Joigny.
How her ex-husband’s mother helped her overcome bulimia
In an exclusive interview with Voici, Katrina Patchett explains the decisive role her ex-mother-in-law played in her recovery. “We were at home, in a small village in the North, and we ordered fries. I gorged myself that day, and I went to the bathroom. I came back and continued eating. She didn’t find it normal that I was taking in so much,” she says. Before continuing: “Instead of talking to my ex-husband about it, she just asked me if I could go up to the top floor of the house to talk to her. She was completely shaken. She is a woman made to be a mother. And that’s the day when I knew that not only was I harming myself, but I was also hurting others. That’s when I made a change.” Then her former mother-in-law accepted to help her, always being present when Katrina Patchett called for help. “Without her, I don’t think I would be telling this story,” concludes the dancer. Luckily, this story has a happy ending!
