Sarah Curry was heartbroken when her husband walked out on her and their little girl to move in with another woman.
But her devastation spurred her own to completely change her life and get the ultimate revenge body by shedding seven stone.
At 18 stone Sarah, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was a size 22 and admits she had always put other people’s needs before her own.
But after her husband left her, she knew it was time to put herself first and to get healthy.
The 32-year-old now weighs just 10st 10lb and has swapped her baggy clothes for size 10 dresses.
She said: “I’ve lost the same weight as a small person. I always knew I was big, and my family would make comments, but I just hid my frame.
“I was devastated when my husband walked out on us. He said he’d lost interest in me and that we’d drifted apart – but eight weeks later, he moved in with someone else.”
Sarah joined Slimming World with the goal of losing a few pounds – but she loved it and it led to a huge lifestyle overhaul.
She explained: “I decided it was time to do something for myself. I loved eating healthier, and I ditched the takeaways and junk food.
“Now I have my revenge body. I love to show it off and wear slinky dresses, tight jeans and strappy tops.
“Looking back, he’s done me a massive favour. It’s his loss – and I’d like to shake his hands. When he walked out he said ‘One day you’ll thank me’, and he’s right.”
Sarah admits she begged her ex-husband for a second chance when he left her and Phoebe, then four, in 2016 after seven years together – but he ‘wasn’t having any of it’.
After crying ‘every day for three months’, Sarah said she was so heartbroken, she couldn’t face the thought of food for the first three months.
As her clothes got looser, she decided to join Slimming World.
On her first weigh-in Sarah tipped the scales at 14st 5lbs – she had lost more than three stone since her ex had left, but she knew it was still too heavy for her 5ft 3in frame.
She said: “I hadn’t always been big. Growing up, I’d been a skinny size 8, and full of energy, constantly running around with my friends.
“But at 16 – just when I was starting to notice boys and taking care of my appearance – I developed an abscess on my bum.
“I was in agony and couldn’t walk – I was immobile for nearly two years. A district nurse had to come out to my house and treat me every day. I couldn’t do anything for myself. It was awful.
“My parents asked my grandma to come and stay with us for a month while they were busy with work.
“She loved taking care of me and would fry a cooked breakfast every day, dinner would always be a huge helping followed by a pudding… the pounds just piled on.
“After that I was a size 16 and I avoided any type of exercise. I was too embarrassed even to make the short walk up the high street as I would be sweaty and red faced by the time I got there.
“My eating spiralled out of control, I lived on junk food and would scoff an entire tub of Pringles every night and guzzle 12 cans of full fat Coke every day.”
By the time Sarah met her now ex-husband when she was 20 she was already a size 18.
On their wedding day, Sarah was a size 22 but squeezed herself into a size 20 gown.
She said: “It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but I felt uncomfortable in my gown, and I couldn’t wait to take it off.
“After the wedding, Sean and I got to that comfortable stage in our relationship and we both started to put on weight.
“I’d tuck into a fried breakfast for lunch, and have burger and chips for tea – snacking on chocolate bars and crisps in between.”
Sarah was desperate to have children and was delighted when she fell pregnant in October 2010.
But all she craved during her pregnancy were unhealthy foods like muffins, chocolate and junk food and her diet didn’t change after Phoebe was born.
Now a size 24 Sarah was heavier than before she fell pregnant.
She said: “I hated my appearance, and hid myself away in huge, baggy clothes – I refused to take Phoebe swimming as I was too mortified to wear a swimsuit.
“We’d go to the park but I wouldn’t run around with her as I’d get out of breath so quickly, it was embarrassing.
“After a few years, I noticed Sean and I had started to drift apart – he was always upstairs watching TV and I was downstairs.
“The day he left in 2016 something clicked inside and I didn’t look back. I knew I would never be the same again.”
Sarah swapped takeaways and burgers for healthy meals and reached her goal weight of 10st 10lb in November last year.
She said: “I got my revenge body. It was hard, but so worth it. It’s given me a new lease of life. I’m really proud of how I look – and so is Phoebe, who’s now eight.
“I love shopping now and I’m always buying slinky dresses, tight jeans and strappy tops to show off my figure – clothes I never would have dreamed of wearing before.
I’m not dating anyone yet as I’m enjoying focusing on me and Phoebe. But when the time is right, I will.
“Looking back, my ex did me a massive favour by walking out on our relationship. It’s definitely his loss.
“He said one day I would thank him for ending it, and he’s right. I’d like to shake his hand.”
Diet before
- Breakfast: Coco Pops
- Lunch: Cooked breakfast
- Dinner: Burger and chips
- Snacks: Chocolate and Pringles
- Drinks: 12 cans of Coke
Diet after
- Breakfast: Cooked breakfast in Fry Light
- Lunch: Warburtons Thins or Naked Noodles
- Dinner: Gammon with jacket potato and salad