In a revealing new Rolling Stone cover story, Lorde shares her past struggle with an eating disorder, detailing her obsession with being thin while vividly recounting moments of feeling hungry and weak. Despite her newfound freedom onstage and joy from connecting with fans during her 2022 Solar Power Tour, Lorde grappled with an eating disorder that began during the pandemic and continued through her 2023 breakup with longtime partner Justin Warren. Once Lorde was able to overcome her fixation on thinness, she allowed herself to take up more space physically, creatively, and emotionally, leading to the creation of her new album, Virgin. “Once I stopped doing that, I had all this energy for making stuff,” Lorde said. “I could see that if I cut that cord, maybe I would get something back that I needed to do my work. And it was totally true. Got it all back, and way more.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Lorde opens up about discussing her gender identity with Chappell Roan, who has become a close friend over the past year. “[Chappell] asked me this … She was like, ‘So, are you nonbinary now?’” Lorde recalled. “I was like, ‘I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man.’ I know that’s not a very satisfying answer, but there’s a part of me that is really resistant to boxing it up.” (Rolling Stone)