Aline Bachmann used to eat up to 10,000 calories a day. In 2014 she fell as a solid candidate on "Deutschland sucht den Superstar". She had no success in the casting show. However, the singer did not give up. She kept struggling and made a career as a YouTuber and influencer. In her book "Never Again Victims," Bachmann writes about her long, arduous road to a new self. It is over 110 kilograms lighter today. However, one thing has not changed, as she tells the news agency spot on news: the 27-year-old cannot be pushed out of the limelight.
Where does your need for attention come from?
Aline Bachmann: I always dreamed of becoming a singer. I wanted to be on stage. I wanted to develop as a person and be a role model for others. Things didn't go so well with my training as a geriatric nurse. I liked my job, also with passion, but it wasn't what I wanted. So I asked myself: Aline, what could make you happy? And so the step into the public domain came, making videos and making people laugh. That was my fulfillment back then.
Back then? Do you regret stepping into the limelight today and your participation in "DSDS"?
Bachmann: No, I don't regret going public. I loved doing it and I want to continue doing it."DSDS", on the other hand, is a topic in itself. At that time I found the whole thing very exploited, as they portrayed me. I now know how television ticks. I know ratings are important. And I should have taken better advice on this at my young age.
In your book you write about your dream of participating in "GNTM". So straight into the next TV casting show?
Bachmann: A lot of doors are opening for me at the moment. Participation in "GNTM" is therefore not excluded. I'm also toying with the idea of maybe going to "DSDS" again to show what I've become. But those are things I'll only deal with when the time comes. Now I have other things to focus on. I think this is still a small process of three to six months in which I would like to decide for myself how things will continue in the future.
With the drastic weight loss, your clothing style has certainly changed. What is your favorite thing to wear now?
Bachmann: In fact, I almost only wear black. I like to hide. Because it is a process of getting to know the body anew. My psyche has yet to realize that I can slowly start to wear other things. When you've been overweight for 26 years, it's hard to realize you're lean after losing weight so quickly. You look in the mirror and see yourself fat.
How are you working against this?
Bachmann: I'm lying in bed and consciously touching my body to notice that I'm slim. I take pictures very often and look at them. I take a tape measure and measure everything to realize that I've lost weight and that I'm not in the body I was in a year ago. From day to day you dare to do different things. And then you get feedback from friends or family that it looks good. Here's how it works.
In your hardest time you weighed almost 200 kilograms. Aren't you afraid for your life?
Bachmann: Yes. My mother and I too were afraid that I would die. That was always a topic of conversation in our family. My mother sometimes stood by my bed all night and made sure I was really breathing because I had developed sleep apnea. I had pauses in breathing at night. And then you start thinking. I was aware that I could or will die if this continues. But I kept eating anyway.
At what moment did you decide for yourself, this far and no further?
Bachmann: That was when I had my last appearance at the Comedy Dresden. On November 29, 2019. I had to sing Adele's "Skyfall" but was very, very knocked out. I just stood on stage and didn't move. After that I burst into tears in the dressing room and thought to myself: Aline, you can't sing any more high notes because you just can't breathe. I couldn't live out my passion anymore, only because of the overweight. So that same night I called my doctor in Turkey and I cried and said: Please, please help me, I have to lose weight. Then everything happened very quickly, I had the operation on December 16th.
Has weight loss affected your voice?
Bachmann: No, everything is the same - fortunately.
And do you have any other side effects after gastric band surgery?
Bachmann: Severe hair loss. And in addition to the very low intake of food and liquid, definitely vitamin deficiency. This is a side effect that I need to deal with. I inject myself with vitamins and I also take pills.
What's next for you now?
Bachmann: We are now doing a breast augmentation and a nose job. And then I'll be done. Maybe the legs will come later. At the moment I am very happy with my body.
