Ellie Goulding admits she was 'addicted' to exercise

'I don’t know whether it was a survival thing,' she says

(PA)

Ellie Goulding has opened up on her "addiction" to exercise and said at one point she felt she had to go to the gym “every single day”.

The 33-year-old singer said: “I don’t consider myself to have an addictive personality but I felt as though I did at one point have a gym addiction that was just not fun."

She told The Sun that the problem was particularly bad when she was on tour: “I don’t know whether it was a survival thing, because ­touring was so tiring, so hard, really taxing on your body and your mental health.”

Goulding, who got married to art dealer Caspar Jopling in 2019, said it felt like a “survival instinct” to be working out so frequently.

"Making sure I was super fit, super healthy and tried to counteract having drinks on tour and perhaps not eating very well,” she said.

"When you go to the gym or you work out, you release so many endorphins. It's such a good feeling that you just want to have that feeling over and over again.”

But Goulding said it got to the point where she was skipping out on going to the studio or writing music to keep exercising. "That was when it just wasn't worth it,” she says.

Now instead she says she has a “healthier diet” and is instead taking an interest in “biohacking” which she describes as “trying to be the healthiest version of yourself you can ­possibly be”.

In December 2019 Goulding admitted she used to drink alcohol with the intent of making herself appear “more funny or interesting”.

While speaking on the podcast Happy Place, hosted by radio presenter Fearne Cotton, the singer said that she would prepare for interviews by drinking, including on occasions when they would take place in the morning.

“I had to be a fake person to deal with the surreal situation I was in,” Goulding said, referring to her life in the spotlight.

“Usually for me it involved alcohol. I assumed I couldn’t be good enough, smart, funny, or crazy enough to be with certain people without it.”

The musician stated that she found BBC Live Lounge performances particularly “nerve-wracking”, which is why she decided to drink alcohol before them.