Former X Factor finalist Chris Maloney has revealed he spent £60,000 on cosmetic surgery after being bullied by internet trolls about his looks.
Talking to Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley on This Morning, he said: “Looking back [at those clips] it upsets me a little bit… I can’t look at myself, I just can’t look.
“X Factor was great, but as the series was going on and the further that I got in the competition, I was getting really bad trolls and they were telling me that they were going to kill me, shoot me, that I was ugly, that I had a big nose… and it just affected me so much and at the end of the final, I did have a breakdown.
“Richard Holloway [executive producer] was fantastic, and The Priory came out and looked after me and I got classed as having a breakdown.”
When asked by Schofield about blocking trolls on the internet, Maloney said: “I did block a lot. But they got me at the lowest point of my life. It was continuous and I just hated myself. I hated looking at myself. I was analysing myself.
“And then I started to lose my hair throughout the show – it was stress-induced hair loss. It was just coming out in the sink when I was going to do TV interviews or radio and towards the end of the show, you could see on the final it [hairline] was right the way back.”
Maloney said he has had three hair transplants, an eye lift, a nose job and dental work, and declared: “I feel so much better now.”
Maloney competed in the X Factor in 2012, and came third behind Jahmene Douglas and winner James Arthur.
Giving advice to future hopefuls on the show, he said: “You are catapulted to stardom straight away – and [for me] it was tarnished by the trolls, but please don’t listen to them.
“I wouldn’t recommend going under the knife if you don’t need to… Just be strong and enjoy it.
“It’s a great platform, X Factor was absolutely amazing, the producers, the judges, Gary Barlow he was absolutely fantastic and gave me loads of support.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article