"I learned a hard lesson about feeling ashamed: Just be real. I'm human."
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Jillian prides herself on that honesty. She's open about dating both men and women, for example, and about trying drugs as a teen ("I didn't like it; I don't like to be out of control"). No wonder she was so upset when comments she made earlier this year about not ever wanting to get pregnant caused a ruckus. (Jillian was quoted as saying that she couldn't handle "doing that to [her] body.") The full story is that Jillian suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis, both of which make conception and pregnancy difficult. "I make an effort to be so transparent — I say, 'Live in your truth, that's the way to happiness,'" Jillian says. But in this case, she held back, and regrets it: "I thought if I talked about my personal limitations, people would say, 'How healthy could she be?' This was my weakness and my bad," Jillian says now.
And her fans wouldnt want her any other way.
"Jillian will walk up and say things like, 'I love this butt!' even if you're 261 pounds," laughs Agnes. "She always knows how to make you feel good."
Jillian's philosophies are built on personal experience; she has
spent her life trying to right her own internal wrongs. She's publicly shared the story about her parents' traumatic divorce when she was 12, her subsequent weight gain — she was 175 pounds at her heaviest — and how martial arts slimmed her down.
At 17, after endless fights, her mother kicked her out and Jillian had to fend for herself. She eventually became a certified fitness trainer, and at 30 auditioned to be a trainer for a new TV show about obese people shedding pounds. That show, of course, was
The Biggest Loser, where her brutal but loving honesty has inspired millions.
Her training style was showcased on the TV show The Biggest Loser, hosted by Alison Sweeney.
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