Returning to daily life after a television appearance can be very difficult. Asked by Jeremstar in his Baby Story show on YouTube, Jill Vandermeulen revealed on Sunday July 17, 2022 that she had attempted suicide after her participation in Star Academy. The young woman, who became a columnist and influencer, had joined the fifth season of the TF1 program, won by Magalie Vaé.
Jill Vandermeulen left the show after a month. “I lived through all of this very badly, I had a very complicated return to my family, I couldn’t go back to school,” she confided. At the time, the Belgian candidate was only 17 years old and would have been the victim of harassment at the end of her adventure. She reveals having attempted suicide: “I was exhausted. […] I thought that my potential career was ruined. […] I no longer knew how to get my head out of the water and I swallowed two platelets of ‘anxiolytics’.
Saved by her mother, Jill Vandermeulen was then hospitalized for a “nervous breakdown” but the bullying continued. The Belgian thus confides that she was “beaten up” by other young girls and “left for dead in the gutter”.
Bitter, the columnist resents the production of the show. She believes that she has been exploited and “sexualized” by the Star Academy teams. “I was imposed a style of dress that absolutely did not suit me. On the bonuses, I was always wearing very short skirts,” she says. “I was the bimbo thing, the model,” says Jill Vandermeulen.
The latter did not wish to participate in the birthday bonuses broadcast by TF1 last October. Seventeen years after her passage in the adventure, the young woman remains very affected but has managed to turn the page. Host of several shows on RTL, she is especially successful with her YouTube channel Silent Jill, devoted to the paranormal and nocturnal explorations in abandoned places.
For its part, TF1 is preparing to relaunch its cult show, which has revealed talents like Jenifer, Nolwenn Leroy or Grégory Lemarchal. The Star Academy will welcome new candidates to the castle of Dammarie-les-Lys at the start of the next school year. The life of the students can be followed live and continuously on MyTF1, while a daily, around 5:30 p.m., will summarize their course and their progress. The bonuses will be presented by Nikos Aliagas, just like in the good old days.
