“ They said things like they wanted me to die because of what I looked like . It was just horrifying . "

This post contains discussion of body image issues and eating disorders.

If you’re aDesperate Housewivesfan, you already knowDemi Lovato’s half-sister Madison De La Garza. She played Juanita Solis, the daughter ofEva Longoria’s character Gabrielle Solis.

During a recent interview on theHeart of the Matterpodcast, Madison revealed that the media attention she received from the role had a serious effect on her mental and physical health at a very young age.

Madison says that the “whole joke” of Juanita as a character was “that Eva was this thin, beautiful model and her daughter turned out to be quite the opposite,” and she called the public’s “reactions” to her character “shocking.”

“A lot of people came at it in a way that they were ‘concerned for my health,’" she explained. “And I personally believe that that’s just not true, that that was a cover-up so that they could just judge a 6-year-old.”

Madison also said that she found solace in the support from her costar Eva. “We never explicitly talked about it, but she definitely went out of her way to make me feel like I was pretty and like I was special,” she recalled, “and she made me feel like I was family.”

“And if I ever did want to go to her with these things, I absolutely could have.”

Listen to the entire interviewhere.

TheNational Eating Disorders Associationhelpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 crisis support, text “NEDA” to 741741.

TheNational Alliance on Mental Illnesshelpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services;GoodTherapy.orgis an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.

closeup of young madison

closeup of present-day madison

madison in the show walking with eva longoria

madison at an event holding up kid tattoos

madison in the show sitting in a church

closeup of young madison

eva hugging madison

closeup of present-day madison