'The last time I saw Nikki Grahame I held her tiny frame and begged her to get help'
07.03.2022 - 18:28
/ ok.co.uk
***Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of anorexia, self-harm and suicide*** “Nikki Grahame and I were the same age and had quite a similar journey. I think Nikki's anorexia started around eight or nine. And now she’s not here and I am.
It’s so cruel. Every time I saw her she knew that I knew, and I knew that she knew.There was a bond. Nikki knew that she had to be well enough to work, so she walked that line for a long time.
But when the pandemic hit she didn’t have anything to keep her going, and no one could see how quickly she was deteriorating. Catastrophically, she was on her own. Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter The last time I saw her was at our friend’s book launch and she looked so lost.
I held her, feeling her tiny frame, and begged her to reach out to me and the charity I founded, SEED, for supporting those with eating disorders. I wish I had insisted more but I don’t think there’s anything her friends or family could have done. She needed the right help - that’s what it always comes back to with anorexia.
Nikki was a prisoner in her own mind. I know that because I too walked in her shoes, suffering from anorexia from the age of ten. And yet I’d had a really lovely home life, with two sisters and a brother.There was no issue, in fact, life was idyllic.
I was a ‘tomboy’, always larking about with the lads. My mum, Marg, was very accepting of me wearing shorts and trainers instead of dresses and there were no childhood traumas. I was a high achiever and doing well academically.
When I hit puberty, my appearance started to change. As I blossomed into a young woman the dynamics in the playground changed and bullying began. In
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