ANTWERP, April 17 -- Just weeks after her husband won Belgium's national elections in 2024, Veerle Hegge found herself in hospital for an eating disorder that almost claimed her life.

Nearly two years later - including six months of full-time treatment - Prime Minister Bart De Wever's wife shared with AFP why she chose to take her anorexia struggle public in a book that delves deep into her personal life.

"Mental illness is still surrounded by taboo," the 53-year-old schoolteacher said in an interview at her home in the port city of Antwerp. "It's something people feel uneasy, awkward even, to talk about."

"It's so important to get care early on when you are sick," she says, to avoid "falling in deeper."

"But you can only do that with...