Size 18 mum with 32GG boobs defies fat shaming trolls by posing in undies

2022-07-12

A size 18 mum-of-two who became a huge hit on TikTok making vids in her underwear said she's learned to ignore the fat shaming trolls who attack her online.

Trainee teacher Billie Ward, 24, revealed that she's fought her own personal body battles since she was young, with school bullies making her life hell by calling her names like "tree trunk thighs" and giving her a complex about her shape come each gym class.

Now though she's gone from self-conscious to celebrating her size, wracking up more than a million views on social media and even posing naked in body paint in London's Trafalgar Square last summer.

READ MORE: Plus size model defies fat-shaming trolls by losing 2.5st and flaunting figure

She added that the transition started taking place when she met her husband Josh in 2015.

Billie, from Shropshire, told Fabulous: "Having someone who loved me helped me learn to love myself, and while I still struggled with self-esteem, my confidence grew.

"I began experimenting with make-up and posting selfies on social media, building a following on Instagram.

"But I couldn’t quite love my body and rarely uploaded full-length photos of myself."

Reaching her 20s proved a watershed moment – with the then size-14 Billie uploading an underwear selfie.

"My heart was pounding as I posted it," she said. "I wanted the same love for myself as the plus-size influencers I followed and I steeled myself for everyone else’s reaction."

And that, when it came, turned out to be overwhelmingly positive, with many saying it was amazing to see a normal body for a change.

As Billie's online fanbase grew, big brands like Bravissimo and Boux Avenue asked to work with her.

There was some negativity though – mostly from men calling her "fat."

The cruel words hit hard – a situation made worse when, in October 2019, she was diagnosed with perinatal depression while pregnant with he first child, Arete.

Billie also suffered from postnatal depression following an emergency home birth.

Marriage to Josh and a second child – Olive – meant Billie would not return to posting until summer 2021, by which time she was "a size 18 with cellulite, thick stretch marks and saggy 32GG boobs from breastfeeding".

So she began creating TikToks in her underwear, complete with body positivity messages, in the hope she'd reach other women who’d struggled as she had – and it worked.

A change from the petite influencers who were everywhere you looked, Billie's vid hit a million views within six days, while her followers went up from 5,000 to 38,000 on Insta and TikTok.

And, last summer, she posed naked in body paint in Trafalgar Square with 50 women who’d fought their own body battles, all of which was part of a project by the artist Sophie Tea.

"My heart was racing, but I felt powerful, confident and thankful for my body," said Billie.

"And now my mission is to help other women and my daughters feel the same way."

To get more stories from Daily Star delivered straight to your inbox sign up to one of our free newsletters here.

READ NEXT:

What your engagement ring says about your character, according to jewellery expert
Bloke arrives in Mecca after trekking 13,000km from South Africa for three years
Cruise ship worker showcases secret rooms on board – including a jail
Kate Middleton caught on camera in ultra-rare PDA with her parents at Wimbledon
Plus size model calls herself a 'fat babe' as she flaunts tummy in bikini

Source: Read Full Article