Katie Couric shocked viewers by admitting on her talk show Monday that she had the eating disorder, bulimia.

Couric, 55, shared details about the body image illness that first plagued her as a senior in high school in Arlington, Va. It began, she told the AP, when she learned she had been turned down by her reach college. Couric termed herself as “curvy” and not the cultural ideal, which she identified as “five-foot-eight and weighing 115 pounds.”

Her binging and purging “ebbed and flowed” through the years. Couric attended the University of Virginia. “I wrestled with bulimia all through college and for two years after that,” she said on the show, describing the guilt she felt at even chewing gum that wasn’t sugar-free. Katie’s since learned how to have a healthier relationship with food.

Odd couple

Are Carmen Elec tra and Simon Cowell mixing business with pleasure? In Touch says the co-judges of Britain’s Got Talent went on an intimate date in Hollywood a few days ago. Simon, 53, hired Carmen, 40, to serve as a guest judge on BGT when she was still engaged. She’s single now.

Health issues

It’s One Day at a Time for Bonnie Franklin, who’s been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her family said in a statement. The 68-year-old actress is undergoing treatment and is remaining “positive.” The petite redhead starred as single mom Ann Romano in the hit CBS comedy from 1975 to 1984. Former costar Mackenzie Phillips tweeted “out love and sweet prayers.” Franklin’s recent credits include a guest shot on Hot in Cleveland, reuniting her with her other costar, Valerie Bertinelli.

Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta star Lori Allen has breast cancer, she said in a clip from the TLC special Say Yes to the Cure: Lori’s Fight airing Oct. 26. Allen say doctors found it during a routine mammogram. Surgery is next.

Parental units

Justin Bieber’s mom Pattie Mallette, 37, has written a book talking about how she used to be homeless. A portion of proceeds for Nowhere but Up: The Story of Justin Bieber’s Mom, has been promised to shelters like the one that took in Mallette in Canada when her mother kicked her out of the house after she got pregnant with you-know-who at 18.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. have added a boy to their brood. The couple, married 10 years, also has a 3-year-old daughter.