Wellness is a multibillion-dollar cult: Instagrammer on leaving clean-living behind

The glossy trap of wellness

For years, she was the picture of health. Green smoothies at dawn, yoga poses on pristine beaches, and captions about 'clean eating' that garnered thousands of likes. But now, a former clean-living Instagrammer is speaking out about what she calls the dark side of the wellness industry.

In a candid interview, the influencer — who once built a large following by documenting her meticulously curated lifestyle — says she has finally seen through the facade. 'Wellness is a multibillion-dollar cult,' she states bluntly. 'Now I see through it.'

The price of perfection

The pressure to maintain that image was immense. Every meal had to be photogenic, every workout had to be 'goals'. She admits that behind the filtered photos, there was anxiety, obsession, and a constant fear of falling short. 'You're not just selling a smoothie bowl. You're selling an ideal that no one can actually live up to,' she explains.

The industry, she argues, profits from making people feel inadequate. It sells solutions to problems that often don't exist, wrapping them in a language of self-care and empowerment. But for the influencer, the cost was her own mental peace.

Learning to let go

Her turning point came when she realised she was spending more time staging her meals than enjoying them. She began to question the rigid rules she had set for herself and her audience. 'I was so afraid of eating bread. Bread. It sounds ridiculous now,' she laughs.

Now, she has traded kale salads for the occasional burger and traded daily affirmations for honest conversations about struggle. Her followers, she says, have been surprisingly supportive. Many have shared their own stories of burnout from chasing an impossible standard of wellness.

Not anti-health, just anti-hype

She is careful to clarify that she is not against health itself. 'I still care about what I eat and how I move. But I've stopped treating it like a religion. It's just life,' she says. The shift has been liberating, allowing her to enjoy spontaneity without guilt.

Critics might call it a sell-out, but she sees it as a necessary correction. The wellness industry, she believes, has become a luxury brand that masks its commercial motives with spiritual jargon. 'They want you to buy the $10 juice and the $200 yoga pants to feel worthy. That's not wellness. That's consumerism.'

As for what comes next, she is stepping back from the constant content treadmill. She plans to use her platform more sparingly, focusing on sharing real moments rather than polished performances. 'I want to be human, not a brand,' she says.

The conversation about wellness is far from over. As more people question the industry's hold on their lives, the former influencer's story may be just the beginning of a larger reckoning.