The former reality star opened up to ET about the 'drastic changes' in his life in September.
Viewers saw Peter Kraus' passion for fitness on The Bachelorette, but now he's opening up about the shocking reason he started pursuing a career in the field in the first place.
The former reality star took to Instagram on Wednesday to share his experience with an eating disorder, at the beginning of his modeling career.
"At the age of 20 I had developed an eating disorder while blindly attempting to keep up with the level of fitness of my fellow models and competitors," Kraus wrote, alongside images from his modeling days. "For two years I struggled in silence, always trying but never knowing how to compete with my counterparts."
"In the winter of 2007 I hit rock bottom and decided that it was finally time to take charge of my health and fitness and learn how to do things the right way. So I enrolled myself in the dietetics program at MATC and graduated with honors, my first PT job, and my first @ironmantri under my belt two years later," he continued, adding that he's grateful for having "this amazing hill of life to climb back up."
Kraus has been open about his eating disorder past, even listing it on the website of his company, Worth Personal Training, as his motivation to get in shape and help others do the same.
During a sit-down interview with ET in September, Kraus spoke more about his fitness journey.
"I went through some pretty drastic changes in my own life. I was a kid wearing Harry Potter glasses and kind of chubby growing up, and found fitness at a later age. I was, like, 19 or 20 when I really started to get into it, and I felt the confidence grow inside of myself through that," he revealed. "Modeling, I just kind of happened upon when I was 20 and that also increased as time went on."
"As I got older, I changed emotionally and physically, and if I can make those changes in myself and see how happy my life is now in comparison to then, [I would love to guide] other people who are on that same path," he continued. "I want to bring happiness, I want to bring joy to other people's lives. That's what fulfills me."
"I've always been a helper and if I can do that through health and fitness, because I'm passionate in, then it's all the better," he added.
See more on Kraus, who is expected to make an appearance on The Bachelor Winter Games, in the video below.
RELATED CONTENT:
