KIWI TWINS' ANOREXIA NIGHTMARE 'WE STARVED OURSELVES TO STAND OUT'

The sisters were just hours away from dying as they struggled with the eating disorder

- Cloe Willetts

Auckland twins Libby and Madi Schipper may look identical, both work in the health and wellness industry, and finish one another’s sentences. But while the 26-year-old sisters now revel in their similarities, past comparisons saw them develop the devastating eating disorder anorexia, which has plagued their lives and, at one stage, almost killed them.

“Growing up, we were very healthy and active, but we had puppy fat and got bullied a lot,” says Libby, who grew up with her sister by the beach in Pukekohe, South Auckland. “I remember wanting to be smaller from about six years old. People would compare Madi and I, which neither of us liked. I learnt one of the ways I could be different was through physical image and so I started to lose weight at 11.”

Libby began restricting her food and, within a month, had lost 5kg. “People started telling me I looked so great, but Madi noticed, got angry and said I wasn’t acting like me,” she tells Woman’s Day. “Neither of us knew what eating disorders were and it kind of snowballed from there.”

Libby started exercising and slowly her days began to revolve around working out, as well as avoiding food or drink. By age 12, she’d dropped 25 kilos and weighed just 37kg. But the light in her eyes had gone, and the once vibrant and happy child now yelled at anyone who tried to feed or help her because of her anxiety around eating.