The TV Chick

I adore Make It Or Break It. In fact, I am half convinced that someone went into my head and created this television show. I am an avid gymnastics fan (and former gymnast), and I watch an incredible amount of television. Make It Or Break It combined my two loves, and it is fantastic. The show is full of drama, excitement and a whole lot of gymnastics. I have never really been skeptical over a story line until recently. Kaylie Cruz was the golden girl of The Rock and then her family life started falling apart. Perhaps as a result of this and the additional stresses of being an elite athlete, she started eating less and exercising more. I have seen a lot of shows go down this eating disorder path: Full House and Saved By The Bell are the first that come to mind. What bothered me about the way these shows handled it was the way the story was wrapped up in a tight little bow and sent on it’s way. I have the utmost faith in the writers and creative team behind Make It Or Break It, and I trust them to handle Kaylie’s story differently. I reached out to Holly Sorensen, the creator of the show, to ask her what went into the decision to give Kaylie an eating disorder, the research they did into the prevalence of eating disorders in elite gymnastics and I even got a little teaser of what’s coming up as the season wraps up. I can say that after hearing her thoughts, I understand why this happened and why it was necessary to address on the show.

Elite athletes are obviously more at risk for eating disorders than your average teenager. What was behind the decision to give Kaylie the early stages of an over-exercising/eating disorder?
Not all athletes are prone to eating disorders, but gymnasts are. We love to do stories on MIOBI that resonate with all teenagers, but have a particular relevance to our unique world, and anorexia certainly falls into that category. The fact is, even “normal” gymnasts keep their body fat and weight at a level that some people would find extreme. It’s an extreme sport. But the top 1% of participants in any activity – be it music, art, or sports, live a much more extreme lifestyle than most people would find normal. Extremely low body fat and very aggressive training and a super restricted diet are par for the course in our world. What tips it into the realm of pathology, of disease? I’ll answer that, and why Kaylie, in your third question, below. One more thing – its interesting to note the only other sport that routinely restricts eating in a way considered by some to be unhealthy is wrestling. And sometimes I think the same general behavior in gymnasts is stigmatized more simply because they are girls and not boys. But Kaylie’s issue goes beyond that.

Did you talk to any gymnasts who struggled with this problem during their elite years?
We talked and researched both gymnasts and non gymnasts with the disorder. We took it very very seriously. There are some powers that be in the sport that are very very sensitive to a story like this because they don’t want to give the impression that all gymnasts struggle with this. They don’t. That is why even though it is a disorder more common to gymnastics than other sports, we saved the story for our third run of episodes.

Kaylie seemed from the beginning one of the healthiest gymnasts on the show, but now her family life is falling apart. Why give her this particular issue as opposed to one of the other girls?
Kaylie was initially the golden girl, the girl who had it all going for her. But peeks into the Cruz family life have shown us that it’s not all perfect inside their mountain mansion. They are a family prone to “appearances,” to looking good; we know that they have secrets and problems like any other family. One of the most interesting things about this show for me is that to be an athlete at the level our girls compete at, almost have to alter the family dynamics and distort them a bit. Kaylie and her father are both “professional athletes,” it’s the root of her relationship with her father. Being on top, being a winner, that’s how they define themselves. It’s not particularly healthy to be a “peer” with a parent, and both of her parents now manage her. In essence, they work for her. Kaylie thinks that her winning, her staying on top, is the glue that will keep them together. Furthermore, in the wake of her parents threatened divorce, and of losing Carter as well as her best friend, all she really has to hang onto and control is her national championship. She wants to keep that status at all costs. Her world depends on it. And unfortunately, her competition is four years younger and 20 lbs lighter.

How are you going to ensure this isn’t the same story we’ve seen before? (Some of my favorite shows have had these types of stories).
I think no story on MIOBI is like a story we’ve seen before because our world is so unique. The show is fun and addictive and has soapy elements, so its easy sometimes think of these girls as just normal teenagers. They’re not. They are professional athletes, the Alex Rodriguez’s and Kobe Bryants of their sport. At a very young age. So the pressures on them are unique. That very restricted eating and aggressive training is a part of this sport makes what Kaylie is going through, and what constitutes her tipping point, very unique. But the disease doesn’t discriminate. It looks the same whether you’re a fancy athlete, a model, or a “regular” girl.

And lastly, can you give a teaser of what’s coming up in the next few episodes and the big finale?
This is far and away the most exciting, tense, story filled second half of a season we’ve done so far. The writers and I “break” the entire season before we start writing episode one, so you might notice our episodes build up suspense and momentum to the finale because all the stories are starting to come together and explode and implode. What I’m particularly proud of from a writing standpoint this year is how many story lines dovetail and impact and explode upon each other. Its easy to come up with a linear story for each character which is good and organic, the challenge is where those stories bob and weave and impact each other. I can promise you there are things you will not see coming. But hmmm, a teaser or two. Something huge happens to each of the girls in the final few episodes – so huge they will never be the same. And here’s another – you will see at least a couple boys you haven’t seen in a while.

Be sure to tune in tonight to ABC Family at 9 pm for an all new episode of Make It Or Break It.