Roman Kemp has spoken candidly about the long-lasting emotional toll of his early modelling career, revealing how it left him struggling with body dysmorphia and deep insecurities that still affect him to this day.
Before making a name for himself on Capital FM and The One Show, Roman headlined campaigns for Topman and ASOS. But the modelling world took a serious toll.
Roman Kemp opens up about struggle with body dysmorphia
“When I was 19, I was the massive billboard on Topman at Oxford Circus. But it was horrendous, Absolutely awful,” the 32 year old revealed on his You About? podcast. “It is genuinely the most soul-crushing thing you’ve ever done.”
Roman described humiliating casting calls where models were made to strip in front of emotionless panels.
“You’d walk into these rooms with a piece of card the size of a birthday card. It would have your picture and measurements. You’ve got a group of fashionistas who do not acknowledge you. They barely even look at you. Then the person running it would go: ‘Take your top off.’ You’re just stood there in your boxers while they pass your card around.”
He said the lowest moment came when you’d wait to see if they’d “keep your card”.
Roman admitted that even now, years after leaving the industry, those experiences haunt him. He still avoids mirrors and can’t watch himself on TV.
“I can’t look at a picture of myself if it’s on the day. It will upset me for the rest of the day.”
He added: “Even with The One Show, they’ll throw to a video tape of me. Everyone will go: ‘You should watch it.’ I have to avoid the screen. I cannot look at it because it will put me off. I’ll be judging everything. It won’t be about what I’m actually doing, it’ll be about how I look. I don’t want to live like that.”
He also described how he actively avoids looking at his body in shop changing rooms.
‘The pressure is horrendous’
The Capital FM host now recognises he’s been living with undiagnosed body dysmorphia.
“I guess maybe I do have… that type of body dysmorphia, but I do everything I can to avoid it.”
According to the NHS, body dysmorphia is a mental health condition where someone becomes obsessed with perceived flaws in their appearance, even if these flaws are invisible to others.
Roman added: “Weight in our our world is a massive [problem]. I feel horrendous for the pressure that they put on us, especially women.”
Roman’s mental health history
The presenter has long been open about his mental health. In November, he revealed he had stopped taking anti-depressants for the first time in 17 years.
“It’s been four months since I stopped taking anti-depressants,” he wrote on social media. “Something I’ve taken since I was 15 years old.”
He added that he was learning to navigate emotions without medication.
“I’m still learning why I suddenly want to cry more and may get snappier at my friends. But I’m excited to understand what the emotional side of me is really like.”
Since the death of his best friend and radio producer Joe Lyons, Roman has campaigned for mental health awareness.
Through sharing his personal battles, he continues to break the silence around male body image and mental health.
Read More: Emotional Roman Kemp’s heartbreaking tribute to Joe Lyons on fifth anniversary of his death
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