Lexi Thompson is, by most any measure, a successful person. She's one of the faces of the LPGA Tour. She's won a major championship among her nine LPGA wins. She works with brands like Red Bull and Cobra Puma Golf.
But professional success doesn't mean personal happiness. And the last two years have been difficult for Thompson both professionally and personally. She lost the 2017 ANA Inspiration after a viewer phoned in a penalty she committed in the third round, leading to an unprecedented four-stroke penalty two-thirds through the final round. Her mom has battled cancer. She's faced a run of runner-up finishes.
Ultimately, Thompson skipped the Women's British Open in August in hopes of recharging by getting away from golf, then returned to defend the Indy Women in Tech Championship title she won in 2017. However, at The Evian Championship, Thompson shed tears as she missed the cut in France, with Golf Channel's Judy Rankin suggesting there's more we don't understand.
"I think there's a build up of a whole lot of things that we are not privy to," Rankin said. "It's enough to know that she has said there are lots of things going on, and she is so obviously a talented player and fighting the game this year."
On Wednesday, Thompson revealed her years-long struggle with her body image. In an Instagram post, Thompson documented her fitness journey, which ultimately showed signs of unhealthiness.
Her post read:
"So this is a pretty personal post and some people might think it’s stupid or that I’m crazy but I’m going to share it anyway.... one of the biggest issues I’ve gone through is my self image/ body confidence. When I was really young, I just ate what I wanted to, didn’t care about fitness at all or what I weighed. Then as I slowly got into fitness seeing the results, I started getting crazy about it, seeing the attention I was getting, doing certain photo shoots I never thought I would. I was putting my body through brutal workouts twice a day not really eating because I thought that’s the way I would lose weight and weighing myself constantly. I would compare my self to these stick thin or fitness models on Instagram, tearing myself down because I didn’t have the toned stomach or the big butt. As a girl I know body confidence is a huge part of life and what we all go through. You think you’ll be happy once you get this certain body? But will you really be? Maybe more confident and by doing it the right way is how u need to go about it. The only way you’ll ever be truly happy though is if you love yourself first. But what I want to share is that your not alone in any of your struggles. And what I’ve learned is that I’m not going to deprive myself in the one life I get to live, I’m going to enjoy life and my food . You should never compare your body to others it’s a never ending battle of being miserable trust me. Your body is your body, it is beautiful so embrace it."
It's easy to forget Thompson is just 23 years old. She's been in the public eye for so long, we tend to think of her as someone who has it all figured out. But Thompson, and any other person in the public spotlight, faces many of the same issues as any other person her age (or older).
It's another reminder you just never know what someone is facing. Kindness counts.
