Kelly Osbourne Is Unrecognizable After Losing 85 Pounds
It's safe to say that no one will come out of the COVID-19 pandemic quite the same, and some people are emerging from months of staying home with a completely new look. Kelly Osbourne is one of those people, as she took to Instagram to show off her latest accomplishment: her health journey. The actress flaunted her Gucci outfit and purple hair, and fans couldn't help but notice her transformation.
"Oh my gosh, you lost a lot of weight," Mama Mai (Jeannie Mai's mother) commented, to which Osbourne replied, confirming that she's lost many pounds since the last time she saw Mai. In another set of selfies of Osbourne showing off her bold hairdo (pink and purple braids), other celebs pitched in with their thoughts. "You look like an actual angel," actress Lucy Hale commented. Vanessa Hudgens also chimed in, saying, "Gorgeeeee," while Paris Hilton left a heart-eyes emoji.
Fans' reactions to her transformation were not much different, with many of them noticing that Osbourne had shed weight and was almost unrecognizable. According to Page Six, the star has lost 50 pounds. However, People noted it's actually 85 pounds total, based on what Osbourne commented on her own Instagram. Keep scrolling to see her new look.
Kelly Osbourne's weight-loss journey hasn't been simple
According to The Mirror, Kelly Osbourne's health journey kicked off when she joined Dancing With the Stars in 2009. The competitive reality television show evidently demanded 16-hour days and killer rehearsals, which led her to shed 30 pounds right off the bat. When she gained the pounds back after the show's conclusion, she hit the Hollywood Hills to hike a few times a week and ended up dropping 30 pounds once more.
By 2013, Osbourne had already lost approximately 70 pounds, according to HuffPost. But that was not without changes to her diet and lifestyle — which included some wacky methods at times, including a strictly mushroom diet and hula-hoop parties. Other strategies included the Reverse Diet, or eating something like pizza for breakfast and oatmeal for dinner.
The real changes didn't come from dieting, though. "Once I learned how to work out right and eat right, it's one of those things that you just have to commit to a life change rather than being on a diet. Because a diet doesn't work," she told HuffPost in 2013. "You lose weight and you stop it and it will all come back. So you just have to take baby steps, commit to something and stay true to it."
Kelly Osbourne is proud of how hard she's worked
In August 2020, People reported that Kelly Osbourne shared a photo of a Neiman Marcus clothing tag (with the price covered) in an Instagram Story, showing off her size 26 clothing purchase, which is about a size 2 in the United States. Along with the photo, Osbourne wrote, "Yes...I'm bragging because I worked hard and it feels good!!!" The hard work was not solely focused on her diet and fitness efforts. She's been through a lot of ups and downs with her body because of her previous struggles with addiction.
Although the reality TV veteran is receiving lots of love for her slimmed-down appearance, her body changes can be attributed to more than just weight loss. She discussed her struggles with drugs and alcohol during a May 2020 appearance on The Recovery. According to HollywoodLife, Osbourne said, "I was so wasted the whole time. I hadn't been to a grocery store in three years or done normal things. I thought, 'I don't want to live like this anymore.'"
In that same appearance, Osbourne shared, "I picked up the phone and I was really drunk when I called my brother Jack [Osbourne]." She recalled, "I got into his car. I was wearing a T-shirt and underwear. I remember saying to him, crying, 'I don't want to be a fat drunk loser any more. I want to be a skinny winner.'"
Kelly Osbourne received more criticism for her weight than her addiction
Back in 2010, Kelly Osbourne admitted to Us Weekly, "I took more hell for being fat than I did for being an absolute raging drug addict. I will never understand that." She shared that one day she was walking down the street when "some horrible obnoxious teenager screamed out a car window to me 'You're fat!'" In response, she cried to parents Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, telling them, "I would rather be called ugly than be called fat!'" She confessed she "hated" herself because of her weight.
In 2011, she told Shape, "I was called fat and ugly in the press almost my entire life," reflecting, "I understand that being judged by others comes with the territory, but it broke my heart and ruined my self-esteem. It sets you up to hate yourself in a huge way. I was so angry about the things people said about me. I truly believe it's the main reason I turned to Vicodin and ended up in rehab three times. I just hated myself." She also explained how her addiction and food issues intertwined, telling the magazine, "I replaced the drugs with food and just got fatter and fatter."
The Dancing With the Stars alum admitted, "I'm an emotional eater. When I get upset, my diet goes out the window." Osbourne isn't the only person who's struggled with weight, or even substituted one addiction with another, but she's gone through all of these changes in the spotlight. Fortunately, that criticism has transformed into support.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse and mental health, please contact SAMHSA's 24-hour National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).