Tyra Mills: ‘My football videos got a lot of views … hate and bullying comes with it’

2 weeks ago 13

Tyra Mills is in reflective mood. She may only be 24 years old but it feels as if she has been on a journey already that some may not experience in a lifetime.

Mills is a multitalented content creator and rose to popularity when she started posting videos of football tricks, skills and crossbar challenges during lockdown. At the time she was playing for Tottenham Under-23s but had also started to put on weight and in the end did not feel comfortable continuing. Cyberbullying didn’t help: she became a target as soon as her first football video went viral.

“My football videos got a lot of views and traction and when you get a lot of attention the hate comes with it, and then the bullying comes too,” she says. “As I kept posting more and more and it went viral the hate kept coming. At one point it was messing with my mental health. I questioned what I was doing wrong to warrant all of this hate.”

Remarkably, and despite the impact of the bullying on her mental health, Mills has managed to focus on the positives and turn her experience into an opportunity to inspire others. “I know I’m not the only one that goes through these kinds of things,” she says. “Content creation is a very lonely industry. You’ve got your phone, you’ve got your tripod, you’re creating content, and then you just go home. You’re on your phone 24/7 and so mentally this can take its toll. A lot of people struggling with bullying have messaged me too and so I feel a responsibility to remain positive for them.”

Mills is dedicating more and more time to empowering young girls and boys with the message that trolls and bullies only hate because of your greatness. “Bullying is cowardly behaviour,” she says. “To hide behind the screen or even think the things that they type is cowardly behaviour. They need to think before they speak, because words can mean a lot to people and, regardless of if it’s said as a joke or in a playful manner, it still hurts. You never know what your words could do to someone’s mental health and what it could unfortunately lead them to do.”

Tyra Mills in action. She is targeting returning to playing in the 2025-26 season.

Mills has set up an Instagram page called “loseweightwithty” and hopes to help other young people by showing her vulnerability without filters and proving there are several ways to tackle bullies.

“My weight-loss journey has been a rollercoaster, on and off and on and off and on and off and so on,” she says. “I started off as 132kg, I’m now 123kg. My goal is 80kg. I’m not going to hide anything. I’m not going to take any pills or have surgeries. I want to be natural.

“Learning to love myself at different weights has been difficult. At times, my clothes haven’t fitted me. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. I then started taking care of myself, talking to myself, journalling, going to church more, learning about God and speaking to my friends about the bullying.”

To protect her mental health Mills has turned off notifications on her social media accounts and occasionally takes a break from posting and reading. In the past she has had to turn off her Instagram comment section to restrict the online abuse.

“I get so much hate in my DMs,” she says. “It got to a point where I was tired of getting the same comments and so now my blocked list is probably full. Instagram needs to do better, because I’ve reported a few things and for some reason it doesn’t fit their guidelines, which is really annoying. What more needs to be done for it to fit the guidelines? I’ve had people continually make fake accounts which I have had to block and report and so I’m just left to deal with it all by myself.”

Mills believes her faith has played a pivotal role in getting her through the most difficult periods. “As Christians, we don’t wrong anyone and we don’t want anyone to be wronged,” she says. “There have been many times when I wanted to react negatively but it’s not in our nature to do so and so you have to forgive people who’ve done you wrong and always look for the positive side of things.”

Her family and friends have been key pillars of support too with positive messages continuing to arrive and she says a lot of early-morning and late-night phone calls have helped take her mind off social media. Their support allows her to be her “vulnerable and emotional self around them”.

Mills says that addressing the issue head on and speaking out about it is the first step to change. “You’ve got to let the bullies know that they can’t get to you, because if they think they can affect you, the cycle of bullying will continue,” she says. “I want to be able to look back in 20 years’ time and say: ‘I became the best version of myself.’ I want to inspire the next generation of kids to push through.”

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Mills is certainly pushing through. She is working as an emerging talent scout and player pathway engagement officer for England age groups and says she would be keen to start playing football again.

“The goal is to go back to playing football next year, or in the 2025-26 season. I just kind of want to feel more content with myself. My goal isn’t necessarily to play at the highest level possible. I just want to enjoy my football. And once I get back to playing, I hope it will be a great story and testimony to all the girls and boys looking up to me.”

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.