Chrissy Metz has shared how her stepfather would “weigh her” and then “threaten to lock” the food cupboards.

The This Is Us star, whose character on the hit drama series, Kate Pearson, struggled with weight and food issues, has detailed the “physical and emotional abuse” she faced at the hands of her stepparent over her size.

Chrissy, 44, recalled how her stepfather “would weigh me in the kitchen or threaten to lock the cupboards, and I’m like, ‘I don’t think you get it.'”

Appearing on The Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast, she continued: “I think there’s so much more awareness now around food, food issues, food behavior … we educate people, the fear goes away. And maybe he was just fearful. I don’t really know.

“But yeah, I mean, [it was] definitely mental, physical, emotional abuse for sure.”

The Breakthrough star shared how people started treating her differently once she got famous, including no longer being bothered about sitting next to her on a flight.

She said: “Before the show, I could go on an airplane and someone could not want to sit next to me if they were too squished or they were going to be like, ’Oh, gosh, here comes a big girl that I have to sit next to.’

“But because now I’m on a TV show, they don’t care. Or they’re like, ‘Oh, well, you’re famous.’

“It was always like, they’re going to be bothered that I’m sitting next to them, or they wouldn’t look at me twice or they would not engage. And then when I became, let’s put it in air quotes, famous, then they want to have a conversation or they were more apt to want to sit next to me.”

Chrissy suggested people “feel cooler” sitting next to a celebrity.

She added: “It’s still something that my friends and I talk about because what does it really even mean? What could I provide to them or what insight could I share with them? I don’t know. Do they feel cooler sitting next to someone who’s famous? I don’t know.”

Having people judge her for her size has led to “trust” issues.

Chrissy admitted: “I don’t understand it.

“That kind of behavior … it makes you not want to trust people.”