Christine Quinn Speaks Out About Her Eating Disorder

Kinda like Angelina Jolie, New York City Council speaker and Democratic mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, took to today’s New York Times to come forward with a personal struggle. Quinn, who is the first openly gay and female mayoral candidate in New York, spoke openly about her battle with bulimia and drinking as a means to coping with her mother’s slow death from breast cancer.

“When the sadness and chaos got to be too much, Ms Quinn would sneak tubs of ice cream and corn muffins up to her bedroom, eat them in a single sitting, and then make herself throw up. The purging brought a momentary sense of relief to what seemed an out-of-control life.”

Quinn kept her binging, and binge drinking, a secret for 10 years until she checked into a rehab at age 26. With years of political success and a healthy lifestyle behind her, Quinn reflected on the trauma that sparked her initial binging habits, particularly when she was trying to be an average 16-year-old but was taking care of her ailing mother and grandmother simultaneously.

Quinn’s move to publicly discuss her struggle with bulimia and binge drinking is smart political move, as she comes ahead of any scandals associated with the taboo of addiction in public office. She’s been branding herself well in the buildup to elections: Her memoir, “WIth Patience and Fortitude,” is set to hit bookstores next month. But in the Times piece, there’s no mention of Quinn’s political goals, rather, a message to those struggling with eating disorders. “I just want people to know you can get through this stuff,” said Quinn. “I hope people can see that in what my life has been and where it is going.”