Penn Badgley gets real about body image, and it started way before Gossip Girl. Before he was serving brooding stares and mysterious monologues on You, Penn Badgley was just a kid navigating Hollywood. And a tough battle with body dysmorphia. In a refreshingly candid moment, the Gossip Girl alum opened up about struggling with body image issues long before he became the internet’s favorite stalker-next-door. He admitted to dealing with body dysmorphia as a kid. Adding that his time as a child actor only intensified his warped self-image.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Body dysmorphia is a mental health disorder in which a person can’t stop thinking about a perceived defect or flaw in their appearance. The disorder can cause anxiety and distress, making it difficult to function in social situations and daily life.

For Penn, the spiral started after his parents’ divorce. He gained weight, felt increasingly isolated,...