The Take That docuseries on Netflix will have fans of Gary Barlow flocking to their screens. The new release charts the star's rise to fame in one of the UK's most iconic boy bands alongside Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, and Jason Orange. During his discussion of life in the public eye in the 1990s, Gary Barlow also opened up about his experience of bulimia.
Having enjoyed five years of success after the release of their first single, 'Do What U Like' in 1991, Take That initially split in 1996 following Robbie Williams' exit from the band the year before.
© Courtesy of NetflixGary opens up about his health battle
In the new docuseries, 'Let Me Go' singer Gary, now 55, opened up about developing an eating disorder after his solo career failed to take off, admitting that he struggled with watching Robbie's solo success. Speaking in the Netflix show, having shared previously unseen photos from this time in his life, Gary said: "I was incredibly competitive, so yeah, I think I was jealous."
© GettyHe went on to explain that he felt he lost his way after being dropped by his record label in 2000, after his second solo album, Twelve Months, Eleven Days, failed to achieve commercial success. Gary said he began to think: "What am I going to do with the rest of my life? Because that's it with music now. I can't even walk down the street now without someone shouting something about Robbie to me."
During his battle with bulimia, Gary became a recluse. The NHS describes bulimia as "an eating disorder and serious mental health condition [where you] lose control of how much you're eating over a very short time (binge eating) and rid your body of the extra food (purging)."
Gary speaks about his reclusive period
"There was a period of about 13 months when I didn't leave the house once. And I also started to put weight on. And the more weight I put on, the less people would recognise me," he recalled.
© Getty"I thought, 'This is good, this is what I've been waiting for, living a normal life.' So I went on a mission. If the food passed me, I'd just eat it...and I killed the pop star."
He went on to explain that he would "eat and eat" at night and would end up feeling worse the next day.
'I would have these nights where I'd eat and eat and eat, but however I felt about myself, I felt ten times worse the day after." Of his cycle of eating and purging, Gary said: "One day I thought, I've been out, it's 10 o'clock, I've eaten too much, I need to get rid of this food.
© Getty"You just go off to a dark corner of the house and just throw up, just make yourself sick. You think it's only once and all of a sudden you're walking down that corridor again and again."
Gary's road to recovery
Things reached a head when he and the former Take That boys decided it was time to put their past with Robbie behind them when reports of the 'Angels' singer's battle with drugs and alcohol started to emerge.
© Dave J HoganThey jetted off to Los Angeles to be with Robbie and to start healing their relationship. "In about 20/25 minutes, we'd put to bed things that had haunted us for years, and it felt like we could move forward after that," Gary concluded.
© InstagramIn 2006, the four-piece (Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen) officially reunited, releasing the album Beautiful World and starting The Ultimate Tour. In 2010, Robbie rejoined the group to record Progress, and the original five toured the album in 2011.
It was also during this time that Gary was settling into his role as a father. Having married dancer Dawn Andrews in 2000, the couple welcomed Daniel in August 2000 and Emily in 2002. They later welcomed a second daughter, Daisy, in 2009. The couple also share a daughter, Poppy, who was sadly stillborn in 2012 - a tragedy Gary has described as a defining moment in his life.
