Sophie Monk reveals she was called 'the chubby one' in Popstars

Sophie Monk has spoken about the dark side of showbusiness in a candid new interview with The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show.

The 41-year-old revealed on the podcast that she was dismissed as ‘the chubby one’ in early noughties pop band Bardot, which left her feeling ‘insecure’.

After the girl group broke up, she went on to spend a decade working as a model and actress in Los Angeles, an experience she described as ‘soul destroying’.

‘I was the chubby one’: Sophie Monk has spoken about the dark side of showbusiness in a candid new interview with The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show. Pictured in London on April 2, 2001

‘I was extremely insecure. Back then was I super sensitive,’ she said of her early career, which saw her catapulted to fame on reality show Popstars.

‘People in Bardot would call me “the chubby one” because I was curvy, I had boobs and the [other] girls were teensy. That was in fashion back in the day.’

Sophie was a member of the group from 1999 to 2002, alongside Belinda Chapple, Sally Polihronas, Katie Underwood, Chantelle Barry and Tiffani Wood. 

She added: ‘You wouldn’t get magazine covers [if you were curvy] back then.

‘The fashion has just changed dramatically. It’s so good that girls love having big boobs – that’s how it should be.

‘It was encouraged – not directly – but it was encouraged based on the work you received [to be] straight up and down, so I was self conscious.’ 

 Skinny pressure: The 41-year-old revealed on the podcast that she was dismissed as ‘the chubby one’ in early noughties pop band Bardot (pictured), which left her feeling ‘insecure’

Body-shaming: ‘People in Bardot would call me “the chubby one” because I was curvy, I had boobs and the [other] girls were teensy. That was in fashion back in the day,’ she said

Elsewhere in her interview, Sophie revealed she’d been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and anxiety.

She said she doesn’t take medication for either condition, but she has found ‘other ways to get around it’.

Sophie also opened up about her 10-year stint in Los Angeles, which saw her take on various small roles without a major Hollywood breakthrough. 

‘It was soul destroying,’ she said. ‘I can only talk from my experience, your friends are your agent. You kind of feel like: “Are your friends your real friends?”‘

‘Everyone wants to become famous, and that’s when it becomes lonely,’ she added.

‘I had someone I trust take a lot of money from me. I had a lot of hits there emotionally.’ 

Mental health: Sophie also revealed she’d been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and anxiety. Pictured on Nine’s Beauty and the Geek

Sophie also said she believed her high-profile relationships and reputation as a tabloid girl hinted her career.

‘It hindered a lot of roles, because then you became a socialite so they don’t take you seriously. Now, you can come off a reality TV show and become an actress,’ she said.

Sophie explained the paparazzi could be a problem, too. 

Crazy paparazzi: Another added pressure during her time abroad was the incessant chases by paparazzi. Pictured, Sophie at LAX airport in 2014

‘The paparazzi would always be chasing you. In LA everyone gets chased. They could be waiting for Britney Spears and they would chase you,’ she said.

This worsened her anxiety because she was ‘always looking over my shoulder’.

These days Sophie is settled into a steady career on Australian TV, hosting shows like Love Island and Beauty and the Geek.

She is also engaged to be married to robotics consultant Joshua Gross.

Happy times: Nowadays Sophie is all loved-up with fiancé Joshua Gross (pictured) and hosts a string of reality TV shows on Channel Nine, like Love Island Australia and Beauty And The Geek.