Chapter One Hundred and Thirty

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TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF EATING DISORDERS

Daily Mail

Rory Nightingale's secret eating disorder

Popstar Rory Nightingale appears to be squeaky clean on the outside. A picture-perfect role model for your teenage daughter. Someone to look up to, to aspire to become. The reality could not be further from the truth.

The star's past has recently been brought to light with the revelation of her almost six-year relationship with musician, Sam Fender. What failed to be mentioned was the singer's battle with her eating. A source tells us that Nightingale struggled with an eating disorder throughout her teenage years, specifically Bulimia Nervosa. She has never publicly announced this or even alluded to it, however, our source shares that Nightingale herself admitted the fact.

It is unclear whether this information was known to Nightingale's ex-boyfriend at the time - Sam Fender - although our source suggests that yes, he might have known. This came before the singer's incredibly successful career took off in 2015, though the exact dates of which she suffered from the disorder are unknown.

Nightingale's breakup with Fender came just months after the release of her debut single. Although the pair appear to have rekindled their friendship, as shown by their activity on each other's social media, the Drop Dead songstress is rumoured to be dating football star, Finley Stephens, whom she was pictured out and about with days ago in London.

Fans seem to think that Fender is devasted by the news, convinced that his tweet simply stating, 'Oh...', is aimed at the couple's outing. Fender and Nightingale certainly seem close and with the pair's best friends' recent engagement, it's safe to say they will be spending a lot of time with each other.

Can we smell a love triangle blooming? Let us know your thoughts!

Twitter

username1 Rory Nightingale had an ED??

username2 I don't believe that Rory Nightingale had an ED at all!! The Daily Mail sprouts some shit aye, I mean have you seen her?😂
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username3 And this is why she probably didn't announce it to the world?? Anyone can have a fucking eating disorder, it doesn't matter what they look like so stfu!!

username4 I feel so bad for Rory Nightingale🥺
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username5 I know, imagine suffering from an ED for it to get exposed to the world by the Daily Mail who can't stop writing shitty articles about your love life!! Poor girl😢

username6 I wish Rory Nightingale had been more open about her bulimia, I know it really would have helped me :((
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username7 She doesn't have any obligation to share ANY part of her life with the world, she clearly didn't want it to be public knowledge and whoever that source is is a really shitty person. I hope they burn in hell.

username8 I can't imagine what Rory Nightingale is going through right now, first, some sleazy source sells her relationship history to the press, the paps won't leave her alone and now someone, probably the dick that sold the first story, has blabbed about something as sensitive as an eating disorder

username9 Rory Nightingale is being unusually silent on her social media considering something like this has been exposed😬
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username10 She's probably panicking and I wouldn't blame her!! She doesn't HAVE to say anything about it.

username11 The D*ily M*il going from Rory Nightingale having an ED to her potential LOVE TRIANGLE in the same article just proves how shitty they are !!

Aurora

"Rory?" Finley called meekly.

"Mmm?" I hummed, not bothering to roll over in the bed but instead pulling the sheets up higher to stave off the chilly October air from my bare skin.

"Have you seen this?" he asked quietly as he shuffled closer to me, passing me his phone and pressing his front against me.

I felt like their air had been knocked out of my lungs as my eyes fell on his phone, which showed an article titled 'Rory Nightingale's secret eating disorder'. I began choking on thin air as I reread the title once, twice, three times, desperately wishing that it wasn't real.

But it was. The whole world knew.

I could feel the world around me spinning, my ears ringing loudly as Finley called out to me. I was so lost in my own head that I didn't even feel the gentle kiss he pressed to my shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he inquired, a hand resting on my arm and rubbing it comfortingly.

I didn't answer as I hastily fell out of bed, gathering my clothes that had been strewn across the floor. Clearly, we were in a hurry as I had thrown my top somewhere I couldn't even find it. I felt my breathing quicken, exacerbated by the loss of the garment, which was the tipping point.

"M-my... my t-top," I fretted, tugging at the roots of my hair as I searched desperately for the final piece of clothing. Everything around me was a blur, so much so that I hardly noticed Finley come to a stop in from of me with my top clutched in his hands.

"Rory," he frowned, grasping me lightly by the chin and tilting my face towards him. "Hey, breathe."

But I couldn't. I only felt worse underneath his gaze. It wasn't him per se. I just hated the fact that everyone around me now knew of my dark past. Probably now judging me or ready to treat me like I was made of glass.

His hand moved to rest against my cheek, his thumb drawing soft lines on my skin in a feeble attempt to soothe me.

"Talk to me," he whispered gently, his brows furrowing in concern.

I swallowed thickly as my eyes began to water. "I... I'm sorry," I choked out, tearing my top from his grasp and slipping it on as I hastily exited from the room.

"Rory!" he called after me, got on my heels.

"I can't... I can't do this now," I told him, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I tried with no avail to calm my breathing. "I need to leave."

"You can't leave like this, Rora," he frowned, catching my arm gently. "You're not in the right state of mind."

I shook my head frantically. "I'm leaving, Finley," I spoke firmly. I tore my arm from his clutch and pivoted on my heels, not giving him the chance to stop me as I stormed out the door.

I couldn't help the strangled garble that escaped my mouth as the fresh air hit me, desperately trying to hold in my sobs. Luckily I didn't live too far away, easily a short twenty-minute walk. It would be enough to settle my mind slightly but it also meant more time in the open where I could be hounded by the paparazzi.

For some reason, I seemed to be a firm favourite of theirs lately, not that I knew why. It was really starting to get to me though and in synergy with everything else that was going on in my life at the moment, including my complicated relationship with Sam, my even more complex relationship with Finley and the pressure on me to keep continually putting out new music, I was on the verge of having a breakdown.

North Shields was my escape from all of it. Well, not Sam. But I could deal with that. There were no paparazzi and no pressure of making new music. It always put me at ease being back at home. Music came to me naturally when I was there. It was like all my stress of being in London melted away. So much so that I was seriously debating moving back to Shields permanently.

The way it should have been all those years ago.

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