Giuliana Rancic Reveals Scoliosis Battle: ‘It Made Me Who I Am’

Giuliana Rancic recently made a shocking health revelation. The E! News host revealed in her new memoir that she battled with scoliosis as a child. Giuliana was even teased for her looks by bullies in school. In her memoir, she revealed her struggles with her insecurities and self-esteem.

Rancic wrote, “I was called ugly my entire life, but it made me who I am.”

She wrote in her memoir, Going Off Script, that she was diagnosed with scoliosis at 13-years-old, as noted by Radar Online. Rancic’s doctor found that her hips were uneven, which made an impact on her posture and caused other kids to bully her in school. She revealed how it made it feel “ugly” compared to the other girls in school.

“The thing about scoliosis is, it’s a different kind of ugly for a young girl. It’s one thing to hate your hair or to have bad skin, but those are things you can hopefully treat.”

Though she tried her best to hide her condition, she couldn’t. Giuliana said that her scoliosis was “very hard to camouflage.” She also explained the lengths she would go through to hide her health condition at a young age.

“It’s all you think about all day, every minute of the day. I always wore baggy clothes and I trained myself so I always looked like I was leaning on something.”

Rancic also revealed in her memoir that the reason she got into modeling and beauty pageant competitions was to raise her self-esteem. She wanted to hear that she was attractive, even if she didn’t believe she was because of her scoliosis.

“I think I was hoping someday someone would tell me I was pretty. I just wasn’t. I was crooked.”

Giuliana had corrective surgery at 21 to straighten out her spine, but it left her with a permanent scar and “bony” shoulder blades, according to People magazine. Her thin appearance and shoulder blades brought on body-shaming comments when she wore a strapless dress at the 2015 Golden Globes back in January. Giuliana noted that the speculation about her weight combined with her scoliosis condition has made it “hurtful” for her to hear how skinny or bony she looks.

“That was very hurtful to me because it was the first huge backlash about my weight. And the thing is I’ve lived with my back and the way it looks since I was a little girl. My shoulder blades protrude as a result of scoliosis. Even if I gained 20 pounds, my bones would still look the way they do.”

Rancic also agreed that she thinks she’s too thin, but she can’t help the way she looks. She said in a recent interview with People magazine that her thin appearance is the result of the cancer medication she’s on. Rancic said that the medication speeds up her metabolism, making it difficult for her to gain weight. She’s not letting the body shaming critics get to her though.

“I was called ugly my entire life but it made me who I am. I always tell girls, whatever struggles you go through as a young woman, those are the things that become your power later. Even though it’s painful to think back on, I wouldn’t change a thing. Because everything I went through as a child got me to where I am today.”

Giuliana Rancic’s new book, Going Off Script, will be released on April 7.

[Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]