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Osher Gunsberg says the 'shame' of being bullied as a child still affects him now.

The Bachelor host and radio personality Osher Gunsberg has opened up about how childhood bullying continues to affect him years later.

Gunsberg told The Daily Telegraph his experiences as an overweight child exposed him to feeling humiliated by others.

“Like anybody who went through childhood or adolescence overweight, there’s definitely shame and embarrassment – you never forget the look in a bully’s eyes when they’re nipple crippling you so hard they draw blood,” he said.

The 42-year-old said these memories create issues that require ongoing efforts to process.

“That stuff, as much as you try to get past it, is still there. It left me with weird thought patterns that I still have to deal with as an adult, which kind of sucks,” he said.

 

 

Speaking about the fact it took time for him to love and accept himself, Gunsberg explained that childhood experiences can crop up unexpectedly in adulthood.

“When you’re a kid, whatever insecurities you have or weird stuff happens to you gets really burnt into your brain. All you need is a little trigger – a smell, a glance, someone or something similar – and it can all come flooding back,” he said.

The radio host said these triggers can then cause a person to behave with the insight of their younger self.

Listen: Osher Gunsberg’s interview with Mia Freedman on her No Filter podcast. (Post continues after audio.)

“The next thing you know, you’re a fully grown, mortgage-paying human, being told what to do and how to react by an [inner] eight-year-old,” he said.

The comments come only weeks after Gunsberg spoke publicly about being body shamed in the media.

The host will appear in the upcoming season of The Bachelorette as well as on air with Hit Network radio show Osher’s Love Line.

Feature image via Network 10. 

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Top Comments

Adrienne 8 years ago

Of course being bullied as a child affects you later on in adulthood. I was called 'ugly' in high school, which clouded my thinking so much that I developed body dysmorphic disorder and later schizoaffective disorder. It's only now that I have realized bullies say these things to hurt you not because they are true :)