Tragic Details About Ginger Zee's Life

Warning: This article contains mentions of eating disorders, sexual assault, suicide, and domestic violence.

ABC News Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee has become an important and relatable source of information for viewers since joining the network in 2011. She's covered major weather events, including Hurricane Sandy and the Colorado floods and wildfires. Zee is also a New York Times best-selling author of the memoirs "Natural Disaster: I Cover Them, I Am One," and "A Little Closer to Home: How I Found the Calm After the Storm." In both books, the "Good Morning America" personality shared some tragic details about her life.

Those details included a troubled childhood, which saw her life turned upside down after her parents' divorce. That situation led to a series of events that would affect Zee for the rest of her life. Not only did she develop anorexia, she was also sexually assaulted and experienced serious mental health issues.

Zee has been very candid about her struggles, and the spotlight she's brought to her own problems has helped others dealing with similar situations. In a 2022 appearance on the "Rachael Ray" show, Zee commented on how surprised she was by the outpouring of affection she's received. "The number of people that wrote me and said everything [from] 'you saved my life' [to] 'you were my therapy, and you brought me some sunshine.' That meant a lot."

Ginger Zee has suffered through various tragic events in her life. Though she's struggled to deal with the fallout those events have had on her, many of the problems she's faced stem from the moment her parents were divorced. That singular event impacted Zee's life to a great extent, both physically and mentally.

During a 2023 interview with MedCircle, Zee talked about having to hurry through her Christmas morning celebration at her mother's house due to her estranged father. "We wake up, open some gifts, have some breakfast, then quickly — especially once he had kids — go to my dad's house and move our entire lives on Christmas Day."

Zee said that every holiday was planned in that fashion, and although she knew it was chaotic, she got used to it. She realized that while her mother was trying to be fair to her father and share her with him, she knew it just wasn't working. Zee admitted that dealing with her parents' divorce was something she had to work on for her own mental well-being.

Ginger Zee was negatively impacted by her parents' divorce as a child, which plunged her life into chaos. That chaos unfortunately led her to develop anorexia nervosa, which she revealed in a 2020 interview on "Good Morning America."

Zee said that her problems with anorexia began after the divorce and subsequent family moves. During her first few weeks at a new school, unable to make new friends and missing her old life, Zee made a decision to do something drastic. "I just said I'm going to control something," Zee remarked. "I'm going to make this chaotic, messy girl into someone who is perfect."

Zee became obsessed with controlling her food intake to the point where she would lie to her family in order to skip dinner. Her body began to transform, and she became so skinny and unhealthy that her mom wanted to get medical help for her. Zee went on to describe anorexia as the most ridiculous disease, admitting it took several years for her to recover from it.

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

Ginger Zee's position as ABC News Chief Meteorologist has made her a popular fixture for viewers over the years. But her personal struggles with trauma have given her a depth of character, making her a very relatable person that those viewers can connect with.

Zee shared one of those struggles in a 2022 Instagram post when she revealed a sexual assault she suffered at a young age, which resulted in an abortion. The post came one day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which directly affected a woman's right to choose. Zee pointed out that the topic of contraception was missing from the conversation over the court's controversial decision. "When I was raped, I didn't have an IUD (which I do now), it likely would have protected me from having to make the decision that changed my life forever."

Zee wrote that she had been raped by her uncle and that while an IUD wouldn't prevent PTSD, it would protect her from having a child. Though she didn't comment on the morality of abortion, Zee did express her concern over the consequences for women if abortion was criminalized altogether.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Ginger Zee struggled with various tragic events throughout her life, including childhood anorexia, sexual assault, and even other health conditions like narcolepsy. However, her social media followers discovered more about her struggles on World Mental Health Day on October 22, 2022.

Zee talked about being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder in an Instagram post. The diagnosis came in 2011 after Zee was checked into Columbia's psych ward. "Depression, eating disorder, PTSD — they are all part of the story I work on and accept about myself every day," Zee wrote. She went into more detail on an episode of the "Quite Frankly" podcast in 2023. "I went to the hospital because I needed to go to the hospital," she said. "I needed help. I should've done it 10 years before."

In a 2022 interview with "GMA," Zee was very open about her mental health struggles. She expressed her desire to help others understand that even though things appeared to be okay on the outside, it had nothing to do with what was happening on the inside. Zee admitted that her problems began during childhood but that it wasn't until she entered college that things began to get much darker for her, culminating in her first attempt to die by suicide. The second attempt came after school when Zee was in her chosen profession as a meteorologist.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Ginger Zee faced a life full of tough challenges behind the scenes. Despite having to deal with internet haters, who she has brutally shut down in the past, Zee has never shied away from the spotlight and has shared her story in an attempt to help inspire others. That was also the case in 2021 when she openly wrote about an abusive past relationship on her Instagram.

Zee's post came in response to the ongoing investigation into the murder of Gabby Petito, a vlogger who was killed by her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, who later died by suicide. "I was lucky," Zee wrote, "I got out."

She then described a nightmarish situation in which she was hiding under a table in a desert hotel from her boyfriend. Zee called her mom, who insisted she call the police, which she did. "They got me to a different hotel and away from him. I flew out the next day." Zee also wrote that not everyone in abusive relationships has the support they need to get help and warned that psychological abuse is often a precursor to physical and sexual abuse.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.