Desperate Housewives Star Reveals Bulimic Past  8/13/06

Cuban-born actress Maria Conchito Alonso has stunned Desperate Housewives fans by revealing she was once bulimic.

The 49-year-old actress, who plays the mother of Eva Longoria's character Gabrielle Solis on the hit show, admits her eating disorder became a big problem when she could no longer sleep lying down.

She says, "I did open a hole in my esophagus... I called a friend of mine and said, 'I think I'm dying, I need help.'"

At the height of her illness, The Running Man star admits she'd gobble bags of chocolate, throw up and then exercise.

Alonso is still a fitness freak, but she now works out with a trainer and nutritionist.

She says, "It's not right to believe that the only way you're gonna get a job and the only way you're gonna get a man or be happy is by being so skinny."