Sara Evans struggling with eating disorder

Sara Evans struggles with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia.

The 53-year-old country singer has opened up about her personal battles in a candid new interview in which she revealed hearing people's opinions about her body "bothers" her a lot because of her issues.

During an appearance on Cheryl Burke’s 'Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans' podcast, Sara was asked how she handles being scrutinised because of her fame and she replied: "It bothers me, it does. Yes, I won't say that it doesn't. I have an eating disorder. I'm more scared of being fat than anything in the world. And that's not good. That's not normal."

She went on to reveal she also struggles with body dysmorphic disorder - a mental health condition which leads a sufferer to spend a lot of time worrying about perceived flaws in their appearance.

The mum-of-three added: "My record label, after I every time I'd had a baby, they would be like, 'when's she gonna lose weight?' You know, and so things like that would just get in my head ...

"I'm a people pleaser. I'm a performance based like if I'm skinny and I'm pretty and I did a good show, then I'm loved … and I want to feel loved no matter what."

Sara went on to point out an example of a comment about her appearance which hurt her, adding: "I was reading comments on one of my podcasts the other day and somebody goes, 'What happened to your face?'

"And that bothered me all day long, all day long, and I just wanted to respond like, 'How dare you?' ... I haven't done anything to my face. I've had Botox … I mean you want to know what happened in my face? I'm 52 [sic]."

Sara previously opened up about mental health issues which have plagued her since she was hit by a car as a child, telling PEOPLE she has long struggled with anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and claustrophobia.

She told the outlet: "I had severe PTSD and anxiety, but it was the '80s, and I didn't have a name for it. I don't think my mother even thought, like, 'Maybe I should take her to therapy.' I thought I could handle it because I'm tough ...

"[Taking anti-anxiety medication] calmed me down. Taking it also made me realise you're not going to be this way forever. I always tell my kids, 'The toll that anxiety takes on your body and on your mind, I think, is so much worse than if you have to take [medication] to calm down.'

"I still struggle. But I'm so grateful for every second of this life."