Lilian Garcia on WWE asking her to wear a swimsuit: 'I was freaking out and in tears'

Former WWE announcer Lilian Garcia has revealed that she was in tears after she was asked to do a swimsuit competition. The reason was because she suffered from bulimia and that made her conscious of her body image, she said.

Garcia, 50, opened up about the incident on the recent AfterBuzz TV's Lilian Garcia: Making Their Way To The Ring show. She said, "The thought of parading my body in the middle of a ring for people to look at was mortifying to me".

"In the pageants I had; however, it was a long time I've been in the pageants. I also had since the pageants I had suffered from bulimia," she said as transcribed by Wrestling Inc.

"When I told WWE that I didn't feel comfortable about this and I mean I was really freaking out, I was in tears, I couldn't even explain to them why because I hadn't really come free and out in the open saying I had suffered from bulimia, I have body issues and so this is a really horrible thing for me to put myself in."

She said she respects those who want to do these competitions, but the thought of her wearing a swimsuit made her think she was going to "break down right in the middle of the ring".

She began having weight issues when she joined college and struggled with the eating disorder for three years. She said she sometimes threw up 15 times a day.

"I hit college and all of the sudden my metabolism changed and now all of a sudden I'm gaining weight and I don't know how to deal with it."

She said she got help the day she threw up blood. However, she has not fully recovered from the disorder.

"It still lingers with me throughout the years and when I say linger, you will have an episode. It triggers, you throw up and then you go 'ugh' and then you're like stay clean for a while and then you'll have an episode and that went on for a few years."