“Vanderpump Villa's” Priscila Ferrari Shares Past Eating Disorder Struggle and Why It Made Her Stand Up to Costar

Ferrari opens up about a tense moment on the new Hulu series, in which fellow server Hannah Fouch criticized the way she was sitting

Priscila Ferrari may appear to be one of the most confident cast members on Vanderpump Villa — but she didn’t always feel that way.

The Brazil native, 30, is one of the 12 stars of Lisa Vanderpump’s new Hulu series, which follows the staff at her French countryside estate, Chateau Rosabelle. Ferrari, who works as a server at the villa, calls herself "Hurricane Pri" in an early episode, attributing the nickname to her intense emotions. But more often, she's seen charming guests with her upbeat, lighthearted personality.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Ferrari opened up about her past and how it's informed how she deals with conflict — including with her costars — now.

Before she decided to seek the spotlight on reality TV, she was working as a model in Brazil. She started in the industry at 16, but after her agency told her she needed to lose weight, Ferrari says she began struggling with bulimia.

Fortunately, she had support from her mom. “She was scared because she didn't want an industry that can make me sick,” Ferrari tells PEOPLE.

She says her mother took her to Weight Watchers, but she sometimes felt out of place there. “I'm like, ‘I know I'm not fat, but I'm not happy with my body,’” she recalls thinking.

When she moved to the U.S. at age 18, she lived in San Diego, where she says she had “no social life” and battled anxiety, which she coped with by eating at a McDonald’s next door to her home.

“I gained weight, and I went back and visited Brazil and saw my friends, and I heard comments about how I had gained weight,” she says. “So I tried all the craziest diets in my life.”

Related: Are These Vanderpump Villa Stars the New Jax and Stassi? Viewers Think So 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the reality star found a healthier lifestyle when she began doing stretching exercises from YouTube videos. And when fitness studios reopened, she discovered that she found boxing workouts therapeutic, which was a “game-changer.”

“My day starts when I box,” Ferrari says. “So I think it's just knowing your body and finding something that builds your confidence and assessing who you are. And it's just not a magic of like, ‘Okay, now I'm skinny’ or ‘Now I feel better about myself.’ I'm still going to be triggered daily.”

“I feel like if you don't love yourself, you're never going to find somebody that can love you the way you deserve,” she adds.

Ferrari feels it's important to speak out about her past, so that viewers understand how far she’s come.

“I'm so confident, and it shows like, ‘Oh, you're a bada--. You're a Brazilian bombshell. You carry yourself so well,’” she says. “To be that person, it takes work every morning.”

“If I can do anything, any girl can do it, I hope,” she says. “The girls that are struggling out there, having the crazy thoughts and whatever, just be patient, have some love for yourself, and know that everything is going to be fine.”

Related: Meet the Cast of Vanderpump Villa! Lisa Vanderpump's French Chateau Staff Will Star in New Series (Exclusive)

She shares that she wants women to remember “you're beautiful, no matter your shape or size,” and to focus on being healthy.

Because of her past struggles with body image, Ferrari was caught off guard by a tense interaction with another cast member in the series’ second episode. (Episodes 1-3 are currently available to stream on Hulu.)

In the scene, fellow server Hannah Fouch says she’s bothered by Ferrari sitting “spread eagle” next to Fouch’s on-and-off love interest and costar, Marciano Brunette. Ferrari later calls out Fouch for not criticizing events coordinator Gabriella Sanon when she sits with her legs similarly spread out.

“I can carry myself very confidently, and some people can take that as a threat,” Ferrari says, adding that Fouch’s comments were also hurtful because her mom taught her to have manners and pay attention to her posture.

“It's been such a long journey of me believing in myself, and having confidence, and accepting my body the way it is,” she says. “And then, when a comment like that comes, it hits like a car. So for me, it was good to see and prove myself that, no, I was not doing anything wrong, and everything was fine. In my head, I feel like I handled it pretty well. And it's just that I believed in myself and my gut that I didn't do anything wrong or disrespect anybody.”

Ferrari describes Fouch and Brunette’s relationship as “toxic.” (Fouch alleges on the show that Brunette cheated on her after they had been dating for three years and they broke up, but then they hooked up again about a month before the show's premiere.)

Ferrari says she was in a toxic relationship once herself.

"It's really hard to get out," she says. "You need to have your limit and your boundary for you to cut it off. Thank God my ex did something so bad that I was like, ‘I don't deserve this,’ and then I moved on.”

Ferrari says she hopes Fouch "can finally move on, because she deserves better,” adding, “She doesn't deserve a guy that makes her feel that insecure.”

As for her own love life, Ferrari is seen calling villa manager Eric Funderwhite “hot” in the show's premiere. So, should fans expect to see them get together?

“Eric is a hot guy, I'm not going to lie,” she says. “I've been with so many guys for their beauty.”

“I'm not saying that he's not beautiful inside," she continues. But, she says, he is "a very, very odd guy."

“You're going to see that in the show more and more," she adds.

Despite being a reality TV fan, Ferrari was still surprised by all the intense personalities on the show. However, she’s found friends in the cast, such as housekeepers Emily Kovacs and Grace Cottrell.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

“Coming from another country, it can be harder to bond with somebody right away,” she says. “And I think it was just me observing and seeing who are the people there I have the most things in common with. And right off the bat, that was Emily and Grace, and they were my roommates. So the bond was there. “

Ferrari says her main goal is to bring positivity amid the show's drama.

“I try to be kind and not disrespect people,” she says. “Even though I can be very explosive, I think it's just a different way of explosion. It's kill them with kindness.”

Episode four of Vanderpump Villa will be available to stream on Hulu April 8.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.