8 Things You Need To Know About Jillian Michaels
by Kate Meyers
published: 08/04/2010
This summer, the 36-year-old crisscrossed the country on Losing It With Jillian, a reality show in which she brought frayed families emotional peace, wellness, and weight loss—8 95 pounds all told in six weeks. Here, Michaels, who has struggled with her own family issues—she’s still estranged from her father—explains why the person she’s trying hardest to fix is herself.
1. I was a fat kid with a unibrow
In eighth grade, I weighed 175 pounds and my nose was the size of a softball. Once, I was sitting at lunch and got surrounded by a bunch of kids who let me have it about how ugly I was-—my unibrow, the size of my nose, the fat rolling over my jeans. It was pure hell. My mom had to pull me out and put me in another school.
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2. Martial arts saved me
My mom signed me up for a martial-arts class in ninth grade. That’s when I started to believe in myself. It taught me that if I didn’t respect myself, no one else would respect me. It helped me to redefine myself. I still identify with people who are struggling to an extreme degree. I want to fix the situation. Helping others brings peace to the helpless feeling inside of me.
Jillian Michaels, age 13. She weighed 165 pounds at the time. I was a very anxious kid. I had night terrors. I couldn’t breathe. My mom is a therapist, and she wanted to make sure that I had someone to talk to. I had a very strained relationship with my father, especially when my parents got divorced. I still try to go to therapy at least twice a week. It has given me the confidence to pursue the things I love, and it’s important that I don’t end up playing out my own pain and insecurities with the people I’m trying to help.
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4. My mother taught me a great life lesson
I don’t know where I would be without my mother’s patience and constant love. She taught me that I have value beyond measure. At every point in my life, no matter what the circumstance, that lesson has helped me to help other people reach their dreams. For many of the people I work with, no one ever taught them that. That gift of self-esteem, that nugget, was the seed that she planted.
5. I still don’t talk to my dad
I have no communication with my father. The relationship is hurtful to me in its current incarnation. But I have to take a step back and create space.
6. I wish I was calmer
I’m a constant whirling dervish; everything around me is intense and chaotic. I have these conversations with myself where I say, “Everything’s going to be fine.” And then I tell myself, “ No, it’s not. It’s a disaster.” I’m brutal with myself. I’m obsessive. When I describe myself, it’s tragic.
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7. I want at least two children
I’m hoping I’ll have the motherhood thing figured out within five years. I was an only child for a long time, and it was lonely, so I would like to have at least two kids. As long as children have love, that’s all that matters, but in an ideal scenario I’d want them to have a father.
8. I have a tattoo of my grandmother
I have a huge tattoo on my ankle. It’s a guardian angel with a picture of my grandmother, Renee. My grandmother passed away when I was 10. I was very, very close to her. She was always there for me. She would have loved to have seen what my life is like now. My mom is like, “Honey, you’re going to get run-down. You’re going to burn out.” She’s proud, but she worries. My grandmother would have said, “This is part of the ride, enjoy it!”
