The following article mentions addiction and eating disorders.
At first glance, Aimee Lou Wood appears to live a charmed life.
After that, it was off to the races.
And in the 2025 miniseries “Toxic Town,” she took on the role of a grieving mother.
“So why is all my energy going towards something I don’t care about?”
“My dad was a drug and alcohol addict and he was always coming and going.
He would go out for a pint and not come back for days.
Wood’s parents ultimately split up and her father got sober.
“Our relationship’s gotten better and better as I’ve gotten older,” she shared.
It helps you express yourself, or gives you a shield from ‘bad things.'”
Wood first realized that she could use theater as a “shield” when she was still in school.
“I remember thinking, ‘I’m at a crossroads.
Wood chose to follow the route of comedy and never looked back.
Apparently, the “Sex Education” actor was bullied by her peers.
This negative self-talk almost prevented her from auditioning for “Sex Education” entirely.
A small silver lining: One of Wood’s bullies apologized years later.
“I would advise people to talk to their school bullies.
The chances are they are now adults who feel really bad about it,” she said.
I’ve lost Kenny!’
I would be crying and everyone would be running about looking for him in the bushes.”
“It was at secondary school that things became more difficult.”
“They were all posher than me.
The mum of a friend would take the piss out of my Stockport accent.
I am very gradually getting over that.”
However, for Aimee Lou Wood, this has not always come easily.
But then, going to drama school, it can get even worse.
The feedback she would get from teachers rattled her confidence.
“I hate feeling awkward in my own body.”
However, for Amy Lou Wood, the opposite has been true.
But what would be a dream for some has proven to be a curse for the actor.
Her fame has meant a massive loss in privacy something that Wood holds dear.
Occasionally, some of the show’s viewers went so far as to harass her.
Experiences like this one proved so stressful for Wood that she began to avoid leaving her house.
“I stayed at home for a long time.
Alongtime,” she confessed.
As well-intentioned as the fans might’ve been, these interactions were profoundly overwhelming.
In that sense, fame actually made Wood’s daily life challenging.
She and Swindells split in 2020 after two years of dating.
“It was an okay breakup, it wasn’t dramatic.”
Despite these bittersweet feelings, Wood felt that their breakup was for the best.
Apparently, the actor suffers from a history of unhealthy relationship patterns one that interfered with her romance.
I’m very independent, but I’m also quite impressionable.
“It puts so much pressure on me.
While this remark was only meant to gas her up, it ended up having an adverse reaction.
“My little head goes: ‘HBO didn’t want me.
And I know why HBO didn’t want me, it’s because I’m ugly.
Mike had to say “yo let me have the ugly girl!"’
That was the thing that was in my head,” she admitted.
Wood does recognize that she adds some fuel to the negativity fire.
As she told Stylist, “It’s a myth I’ve told myself.
Now that she is a public figure, her smile has gotten attention on an entirely different level.
“It feels so lovely, a real full-circle moment after being bullied for my teeth forever.”
They think it’s nice because they’re not criticizing … And, I have to go there…
I don’t know if it was a man would we be talking about it this much?
“The White Lotus” star shared a similar sentiment in a 2025 interview withGlamour.
I did seven months of really hard work,'” Wood said.
She also noted that the obsession with her teeth feels weird and she just wants to move on.
Wood was quick to criticize the sketch’s lack of sensitivity.
Although she did ultimately receive an apology from “SNL,” Wood’s troubles did not end there.
Even aftershe called out the sketch, Wood’s “White Lotus” co-star Walton Goggins praised it.
In his own Instagram Stories, Goggins called the sketch “smashing” (viaPage Six).
The reality, however, is much more complicated than that.
Wood also hopes to one day start a family.
“Because if I have a baby, everyone will leave me the f*** alone!
And I can’t have a baby for that reason.
I’ve always wanted a cozy house and a baby and a fire.
I just want that.
That’s the dream.”
For now, though, Wood knows that this dream is not exactly in the cards.
Instead, it seems, she’ll settle for the goal of becoming a writer.
I’m always writing about unrequited love and miscommunication.”
