Sunday, 3 August 2008

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Natalie Cassidy: I wish I'd never dieted

Natalie suffers a new body crisis

'Fat mail' hurt Natalie Cassidy's feelings

Distraught Natalie Cassidy’s turning into a recluse after enduring taunts about her putting on weight again.

Friends and family have rallied round the 25-year-old, but she’s ‘extremely sensitive’ and has been staying indoors.

Last week she was seen on a rare trip to London’s Covent Garden with boyfriend Ben Porter, 40, tucking into frothy coffee and the biscuits that she’d recently said were so hard to give up. Natalie’s now booked a holiday to escape the pressure of people asking why she’s put on weight.

‘Natalie was heartbroken about all this “fat mail” she received,’ says our well-placed source. ‘Even when she’d lost weight, people were slating her for being ugly.

‘When her old pals from EastEnders Joe Swash and Mohammed George invited her out last week, she didn’t even want to get off the couch.

‘The only people she wants to see are Ben and her family. She’s embarrassed that she’s put on all this weight in such a short space of time. It makes her wonder if the diet was really worth it.’

Just eight weeks after she finished promoting her fitness DVD, which was the fastest-selling of all time, Natalie looks to have piled on at least 20lb. She’d slimmed from a size 16 to an 8, lost 2½st and was exercising up to 2 hours a day, but sadly she couldn’t sustain her regime.

See the full story and new photos of Natalie Cassidy in Now magazine dated 4 August 2008 - out now!