Appearing on Southern Charm as Thomas Ravenel’s girlfriend, it was inevitable for Ashley Jacobs to receive lots of criticism. Thomas has been an extremely polarizing character throughout the years and Ashley isn’t doing herself any favors by fighting with him and the mother of his children, Kathryn Dennis.
As a result, a lot of Southern Charm viewers are coming at Ashley on social media. Unfortunately, it’s for a lot more than just her antics on a reality TV show. Ashley has spoken out against the people who have commented on her extreme weight loss.
Ashley shared a photo of herself floating in a pool with a very lengthy rant addressing her haters. She began, “I was going to say in my caption something like, ‘Happy Summer Solstice’ and turn commenting off. But then I thought, ‘who am I kidding?’ Turn commenting off so I don’t have to read all the comments on how unhealthy I look? How about I be honest with all of you and address this weight concern once and for all.”
Ashley explained, “So here goes… In the last 8 months I have struggled with severe anxiety related to stress. I was completely overwhelmed with moving across the country, leaving my family and friends, being in a new relationship, not having my nursing license, oh and being on a reality TV show! I made these choices and I take complete accountability for them. What I lacked was proper coping mechanisms.”
She continued, “I dropped a lot of weight in a matter of months. I was putting too much pressure on myself, not taking care of my health and fitness, along with other external stressors. People deal with stress in a multitude of ways (some of them healthy, some of them not so much). It’s important to monitor your response to stress, anxiety, or any other negative emotion in order to keep your health in check. I’ve learned the hard way that you need to ask for help when things aren’t going well.”
Ashley told her followers, “You need to talk to qualified professionals, get medical support, and not feel ashamed or try to ‘tough it out.’ It isn’t easy, but there is hope for me and I believe that things will get better.”
She concluded, “I’m allowing comments but if you could please try to refrain from saying, ‘Eat a cheeseburger, you’re on drugs, you have an eating disorder, or you’re way too skinny,’ I’d appreciate it because TRUST ME, I know… I’ve heard it all and it doesn’t help. I appreciate everyone’s concern and hope you can all support me. I know how far I have strayed from who I used to be, and could be once again. I’m committed to choosing my health and well-being first.”
Aside from the message itself, it is very interesting timing that she posted it right before the episode of Southern Charm when Kathryn revealed her own anxiety and depression. Is that purely a coincidence? Is that a calculated move against Kathryn? Is she just continuing an important dialogue?
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ASHLEY’S POST? ARE THE CRITICS TOO HARD ON ASHLEY? DO YOU WANT ASHLEY TO RETURN FOR ANOTHER SEASON OF SOUTHERN CHARM?
[Photo Credit: Instagram]
