Olivia Wilde: 'I self-medicate with food'

Published Jun 3 2012, 23:15 BST  |  By Tom Eames

Olivia Wilde has revealed that her weight fluctuated when her marriage broke down.

The In Time actress split from her husband Tao Ruspoli in February 2011 after seven years of marriage.

She explained that she originally lost a lot of weight, before "self-medicating" with food and ended up "packing it on".

Wilde told talkshow host Amanda de Cadenet: "I lost a bunch of weight and I was really never sleeping... I moved in with a girlfriend and she said, 'You don't sleep; you sleep three hours a night!'

"Then you go through a period where you're self-medicating with something to fill a void because you have created a void by removing someone from you. There's a chunk missing and people fill it with all sorts of things.

She continued: "I definitely self-medicate with food, that's my thing; I love to cook. I always convince myself, 'It's better than crack cocaine, so I guess it's okay...' Food is like a hug on the inside.

"I'm a healthy person, but I definitely packed it on because I wanted to feel a buffer between me and the pain, because the world started getting really scary, and new relationships [and] dating was a lot more painful than I ever imagined."

Wilde added that she is glad that she went through her tough times in 2011, as she has been able to grow as a person.

"Learning to be by myself and be okay with it and not need the validation of another human being, that has been the biggest challenge. But I know coming out of that I'll be a better person, a better partner eventually for someone."

Olivia Wilde recently signed up for Spike Jonze's latest film opposite Rooney Mara.