Parents of a 23-year-old who died of anorexia open up about the horrifying realities of her eating disorder

The parents of a 23-year-old girl who died of anorexia after starving herself “half her life” have detailed the horrifying realities of her illness and admitted it was “brilliant” but “psychotic”.

Madeleine Billings, of Denver, Colorado, died in her sleep on December 30, 2021 after years of battling an eating disorder.

Now her parents, Nick and Lisa, have shared the harrowing details of their final days, telling the Today Show in a new interview that it feels like Maddie isn’t “in there” anymore.

“She was brilliant. But she ended up being psychotic. I mean, the conversations I had with her in the last week of her life, there wasn’t any Maddie in it. It was all illness,” said Nick, 53.

The parents of a 23-year-old girl who died of anorexia after starving herself “half of her life” have detailed the horrifying realities of her illness and admitted it was “brilliant” but “psychotic”.

Madeleine Billings (pictured in 2013), of Denver, Colorado, died in her sleep on December 30, 2021 after years of struggling with an eating disorder

Her parents, Nick and Lisa (pictured with Maddie in 2015), shared the harrowing details of their final days, telling the Today Show that it felt like Maddie wasn’t “in there” anymore.

He explained that she was “obsessed” with accidentally taking a sip of a regular Dr. Whether or not I drank Pepper instead of a diet drink.

“This brain was obsessed with Dr. Pepper and whether she accidentally took a sip of normal food or a diet. And what did that mean? I spoke to her for hours on consecutive days about this topic,” he continued.

Lisa, 54, added that although her daughter knew the dangers of her condition, the “cruel and critical voices” of the “eating disorder” would always “creep in”.

The parents said they first realized something was wrong with Maddie when she was 13.

She had gone on a trip to France with her grandparents, where she met another teenage girl who suffered from an eating disorder, which her parents said had impressed her.

Lisa, 54, added that although her daughter (seen together when she was 10) knew about the dangers of her condition, the “cruel and critical voices” would always “creep in”.

The parents said they first realized something was wrong with Maddie when she was 13 after attending soccer camp. She is seen with friends in 2015 (left) and 2016 (right).

“When we picked her up there, she had already fallen off so badly [weight] she just didn’t look like herself,” Lisa said

Then, the summer before eighth grade, she went to soccer camp, and when she got home, Nick and Lisa said they saw a big difference in their daughter.

Her parents explained that they put her in therapy and that she was doing better. But by the time she got into high school, the eating disorder came back. She is pictured in 2013

“When we picked her up there, she had already fallen off so badly [weight] she just didn’t look like herself,” Lisa said.

Her parents explained that they put her in therapy and that she was doing better. But by the time she got into high school, the eating disorder came back.

“It was just starting to creep back in and we watched it creep back in. This disease was never denied. We threw everything we had at it,” her father said.

On the outside, her mom and dad said Maddie looked perfectly normal — she was an A-grade student, played field hockey and soccer, and looked “deceptively healthy.”

But inside it was a daily struggle. Nick remembered how stressful mealtime could be when he and Lisa had to force Maddie to eat.

Externally, her mother and father said Maddie (left in 2014 and right in 2015) appeared normal — she was an A-school student, played field hockey and soccer, and looked “healthy.”

But inside it was a daily struggle. Nick (seen with Maddie and another family member in 2015) recalled how stressful mealtimes could be when they had to force Maddie to eat

At her lowest point, Maddie (pictured with her siblings in 2015) dropped to 76 pounds as her parents tried everything they could to help her

In addition to the eating disorder, she also suffered from anxiety. At her lowest point, Maddie dropped to 76 pounds as her parents tried everything they could to help her.

Nick said, ‘We had them stationary. We had her on an outpatient basis. We had her in therapy. We treated her with various drugs. And it got worse.’ Maddie is pictured as a baby

Nick said, ‘We had them stationary. We had her on an outpatient basis. We had her in therapy. We treated her with various drugs. And it got worse. I know conventional treatments work for some, but it didn’t work for her.’

When the pandemic hit in early 2020, her parents said Maddie — who attended college at the University of Colorado after high school — got worse as she often complained about feeling alone.

During the last year of her life, her mother said Maddie “got a lot sicker,” explaining that she often fainted when she stood up because her heart rate was so low.

She said her gastrointestinal system “shut down” and she was hospitalized three times.

During the last year of her life, her mother said Maddie (seen in 2015) “got a lot sicker,” explaining that she often fainted when she got up and was taken to the hospital three times

Now, Nick and Lisa are speaking out about their condition in hopes of warning other parents about the dangers of anorexia. “This disease will kill you,” her father said. Maddie is seen as a child

“It really is [felt] like our kid was dying before our eyes,” Nick recalled, with Lisa adding, “She was superwoman for so long and then it was like the wheels fell off and everything started to go wrong…

“In the end, she was just a complete mess physically.”

At the time of her death, she was on a waiting list at an eating disorder treatment center in Denver.

Now, Nick and Lisa are speaking out about their condition in hopes of warning other parents about the dangers of anorexia.

“If you have a kid that’s really performing and you find meth, alarm bells will go off and you do something. But if you have the same kid and they don’t finish their meals or only eat certain things, you kind of assert yourself and say, “Oh, it’s no big deal,” Nick concluded.

“This disease will kill you. It isolates you, starves you, and kills you.”