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Lauren Young opens up about overcoming weight gain, debt, 'diva' personality
If you check Lauren Young's social media posts, you'd think she was living a charmed life: she had all the make-up, wore the cutest dresses, and often had photos in pools and beaches.
But in her latest vlog, the Kapuso actress reveals the other side behind her glamorous photos: a bad personality, a huge debt, a toxic social lifestyle, and a cold relationship with her family.
A year ago, Lauren thought she had the perfect life.
"I had my career, I was acting, had a show during that time, I just bought a car, I had a condo that I previously bought when I was 18. Technically I was living rent-free but I still had a mortgage to pay," she said.
In May last year, Lauren and her sister Megan decided to live together. The Miss World 2013 titleholder had tried to help Lauren, but it only served to irk the actress.
"She kept trying to help me in ways na, I was like, I don't need your help. I kept rejecting all the help that she was throwing my way," Lauren said.
It was when they lived together that she realized that she and Megan didn't know each other — and it was the "saddest day" of her life.
"It wasn't because of her, it was because of me," she said, adding that she "shunned" her family.
"I thought I didn't need them. That's when I realized, that's the time I needed my family the most," she added.
It was also made clear to Lauren that her career was not at its peak. Why? She said she realized that she was not a person that anyone would want to work with.
"I thought I was being funny, but actually I was being a brat on set, I was being a diva. I thought that I had the right to ask for certain things, and treat people a certain just because I was the actor on set. I was always making reklamo, I was always bitching, and I was just so demanding and judgement towards my peers," she recalled.
Lauren then decided to be more professional and to channel a better personality. It worked — her work environment and career improved.
Falling into debt
With her career soaring, Lauren thought she had all the money in the world and that she wouldn't run out. She bought a condo unit when she was 18, and a car when she was 22. It only made sense to her; after all, her peers were doing the same things.
"I bought a condo and I bought a car, but I had no money. I had no savings. And I was in serious debt. Sobrang wala na kong mapagkuhanan ng pera. And I didn't buy these things full. I had a mortgage," she said.
"That's the first thing na 'dun ako nagkamali. Kumuha ako ng kotse at ng bahay na hindi ko naman talaga afford, just because I wanted to play along and be at the same level of my peers, na hindi ko naman sila ka-level," she continued.
Buried in serious debt, Lauren decided to rent out her condo so she can use the money to pay off her loans. And with encouragement from Megan and her boyfriend Mikael Daez, Lauren also sold her car.
Selling the car was hard for her to do, because it was like letting go of her high status in society.
But when she actually did it, Lauren was surprised that she felt nothing.
"That's when I realized, these are just material things, and I don't need them," she said.
Lauren then got into an obsession of selling off her material things: bags, shoes, clothes. She said she's not into the minimalist lifestyle, but was simply ridding herself of everything she doesn't need.
Body acceptance
The 25-year-old then answered the question she was often asked: "Bakit ka tumaba?"
"Tumaba ako kasi I wasn't living a healthy lifestyle. I was binge-drinking, I was binge-eating, and I think it all stems from the fact that I wasn't happy. I wasn't happy that no matter if I had all these things, I was still looking for something more," she said.
She said she would drink until she blacked out, that she'd go out at 10 p.m. and go home at 8 a.m. the next day. At the time she'd enjoy it, but she'd regret it the next day.
Lauren made the decision to improve her life. Now, she is determined to own up to all her past mistakes.
"I'm taking care myself so much more. I've been eating properly, I haven't been drinking, I don't go out, I try to walk as much as I can, I don't make excuses. This is me owning up to everything in my past," she said.
Lauren worked hard to repair her relationship with her sister, learned to be professional at work and channel a better personality, and downgraded her lifestyle to one she can comfortably live in. She said she no longer owes money to her family and friends, and she's on her way to paying off her loan.
"I paid everything off, I am now living debt-free, besides my loan. Besides all the privilege, all the material things, and all the luxury in life, I am happier. So much more happier. Because I finally realized the things that I truly need in life," she said.
She admits that she still struggles every day but she's in a much better place now.
"Today I can say that I don't have much materially," she said. "But I have so much in my heart and I've never been happier." —JCB, GMA News
