Top Model Reveals The Horror Of Modeling Industry Pressure To Be Dangerously Thin

Though she was thinner than ever, her self-esteem was at an all time low.

“In those days I rarely, if ever, had the feeling that anyone in the industry actually thought I was perfect the way I was. I am not surprised it completely f***ed with my mind.”

The pressure started mounting and taking a toll on her health.

“My natural eating behavior disappeared entirely. I didn’t know if I was hungry or what I was hungry for. Every time I looked in the mirror I had this feeling of not being the way I was supposed to be. Every day the burden became heavier.”

Finally, Wolter was forced to quit the industry when she “couldn’t look in the mirror anymore.”

After spending a few months hiking in the Alps alone and taking an apartment in Berlin, she decided to return to the modeling industry, but promoting only her real measurements. She also suggested to her agent that she could be a plus-size model, but despite telling her she wasn’t big enough, plus-size agents in New York were happy to take her in, though internationally she was still booked as “straight size.”

She admits that this was a mistake, as she had trouble booking gigs in the plus-size industry because she needed to wear pads to look bigger, and her agents in Europe had trouble booking her because everyone thought she was too big because of her hype as a “plus-size model.”

Now back to her “straight size” status, she admits that she enjoyed her time in the plus-size world.

“I was proud — I actually loved being called plus-size. I told everyone I was plus-size. I love the words ‘plus-size.’ To be given this label was most likely the happiest day I can remember.”