Riverdale star Camila Mendes reveals she was sexually assaulted after being roofied in college

The incident took place when she was a first year student at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts
UPDATED APR 1, 2020
Camila Mendes (Getty Images)
Camila Mendes (Getty Images)

'Riverdale' star Camila Mendes has opened up about being sexually assaulted in college after being roofied by someone and revealed how her tattoo, which stands for strength, has been helped her move forward. 

As reported by Women's Health, the 25-year-old actress revealed the traumatizing incident that inspired her ribcage tattoo. The tattoo reads 'To build a home' and the actor explained that she had been motivated and eager to get inked after she was sexually assaulted in her first year of college. 

"I had a very, very bad experience; I was roofied by someone who sexually assaulted," she revealed. The incident took place when she was at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. For Mendes, the tattoo represents strength and security just like a physical home does. These were the qualities that she wanted to be in her life. 

Mendes will appear on the magazine's October issue where she flaunted her tattoo for one of the pictures. "Whenever I feel like I’m going through something difficult, I think about what I can do physically for myself," Mendes added.



 

When she was younger this physical activity would be dance. Now, she takes to gymming after filming her show as a means to blow off some steam. 

She is also very particular about her night's sleep and she aims to get around eight hours of sleep every night in order to keep healthy. She has also previously spoken out about her eating disorders and suffering from bulimia. She had gone public with her disorder in 2017 hoping that other young people would be helped by a conversation around the topic. 

She recalled how when she was a teenager, there weren't any role models for body positivity as that was not 'a thing'. It was all about being thin and skinny, she added. "I make choices that are good for me — and not just in my body — but for my soul, for my mind. And sometimes that’s eating ice cream because I want to eat ice cream," Mendes shared. 

The actress rose to fame when she started to star in the CW teen drama playing the role of Veronica Lodge. Since then, she has landed many roles in movies and is currently working on the fourth season of 'Riverdale'. 

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