Joelina Drews
"I was totally disordered and anorexic"
© Sebastian Reuter / Getty Images
With a new name and a new single, Joelina Drews wants to start a second career attempt. The first failed to be a great success and the daughter of hit legend Jürgen Drews fought against depression and anorexia.
At the age of 14, Joelina Drews, 25, tried to make a name for herself in the music industry – but without success. Instead, the teenage girl has to deal with harsh criticism and nasty comments online.
Joelina Drews suffers from criticism
"Back then I took very much to heart what people wrote about me on the Internet," she explains in an interview with "Bild". Many reduce her to being the daughter of Jürgen Drews, 75, and to appearances. "The fact that I was referred to as a 'little moon face' in a forum really hit me. I had crying fits every day because I couldn't understand why I was not liked."
Serious consequences for the teenage girl
Having to deal with such hateful comments as a teenage girl had serious consequences for Joelina. She began to starve. "I only ate skimmed quark with sweetener, I was totally bothered by eating and became anorexic. At 1.73 meters I weighed only 47 kilos," she confesses. She also suffered from depression and saw little point in "getting up in the morning at all."
A difficult time began for her parents Jürgen and Ramona Drews, 47, too. "My father was helpless and couldn't handle it at all," explains Joelina. "My mom then helped me out of this phase in long conversations."
New start as Joedy
In her new single "Eiskönigin", Joedy, as she calls herself today, processes what she has experienced and the prejudices she was confronted with. Today she doesn't care what people think of her, she makes clear. However, she knows what a "danger platforms like Instagram pose when your character as a young girl is not yet firmly established and is in the self-discovery phase."
Are you seeing any signs of an eating disorder? The Advice line the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) for eating disorders can help you anonymously at: 0221/892 031. Other professional and specialized advice centers can also be found in the BZgA's location search.
This article originally appeared on Gala.de.