Olivia Munn has shared details about her experience with the hair-pulling disorder trichotillomania, which was triggered by comments on a paparazzi photograph of her during her 2009 relationship with Chris Pine.
The Mayo Clinic defines trichotillomania as a mental health condition that involves the urge "to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows, or other areas of your body."
For Munn, her own eyelashes were the target.
"There's a sensation. It's probably not even real, but I'll feel like, Oh, this eyelash feels like it's gonna come out, even though it's not," Munn said during the Monday episode of the "Armchair Expert" with the Dax Shepard podcast, according to People, "And then when you pull it, there was a quick second of pain. And then there's a satisfaction and then immediate regret."
The condition developed when she was dating Pine from late 2009 to early 2010.
"So there was a paparazzi shot of he and I, and it was the first time I was in the tabloids," she said.
Munn explained that she was going to a small gathering and had requested "the most hideous dress" from "The Daily Show" costume department.
"They found this blue old prom dress with big pom poms on the side. And I was like, 'Oh, wonder if I can make it into the worst best dressed list?' " she said. "And then I did! I couldn't believe it worked. The fact that I was like, they know who I am to even put me on this list. It was very exciting."
Reflecting on the past, Munn said it was around that time that she was snapped leaving Pine's apartment.
"There were paparazzi outside his house because he had been in 'Star Trek' and all this. And they caught photos of me. I was like, 'Oh my god.' And when it got out, one of my friends was like, 'Hey, you're dating Chris Pine,' " she said, noting that she then did the "horrible thing" of reading the comments on the images.
"And they were like, 'I think she set this up. Who's carrying a clutch during the day?' " Munn said. "That began my trichotillomania."
Munn previously opened up about her struggle with trichotillomania in a 2012 interview.
"I don't bite my nails, but I rip out my eyelashes," she said at the time, according to Today. "It doesn't hurt, but it's really annoying. Every time I run out of the house, I have to stop and pick up a whole set of fake eyelashes."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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