Charlotte Dawson has revealed that her loved-ones stepped in with some harsh words of advise when she needed it most - but her relationships have improved since.
The former Celebs Go Dating star, 29, has enjoyed a successful year on social media as her following continued to grow as she shared body positivity videos by showing off her 'belly rolls' and the realities of being a first-time-mum.
But while Charlotte was helping others feel better about their bodies, she didn't realise that she was suffering while trying to boost the confidence of others.
The bubbly star, who has recently completely overhauled her diet, lifestyle, and exercise regime, has opened up about when she realised that the self-help videos she was making for others were actually quite toxic for her own mental health.
Charlotte - who shares 11-month-old son, Noah, with 30-year-old fiancé Matthew Sarsfield - says her new physique has made her realise how unhappy she really was when she was bigger.
"I thought I was happy being ‘chunky but funky’. But I look back now and honestly my mental health wasn’t right when I was that big," she told Fabulous Magazine.
"I used to hide behind my belly and food. Everyone loved me showing off my stomach on TikTok and it would fuel me to do more videos."
Although her videos were doing amazingly well on social media, and her honest posts would always receive an incredible reaction from her adoring fans, Charlotte's loved-ones had to step in to offer some harsh words of advise when they became 'too much'.
Charlotte explained: "It would give me reassurance that it was OK. My mum used to get upset by them and Matthew would say: ‘I love you, baby, but it’s a bit embarrassing.’
"But they made my followers happy. I was definitely seeking validation from people to make myself feel better.”
The reality TV star also revealed that losing weight has actually improved her relationship with her husband-to-be.
Charlotte admitted that Matthew helped her feel like less of 'a slug' and encouraged her to be motivated on her down days.
"It’s definitely improved our relationship. We’ve been so much better since I started this journey, because we were starting to argue. I would be a bit of a slug and he was like: ‘Come on, get up. You’ve got a baby now. Let’s get a bit of motivation'," she admitted.
“Matthew has helped me a lot and he’s jumped on this fitness regime too, because I’ve actually been a little bit of an inspiration. I think he’s a bit jealous. He’s got to up his game."
The star was a size 14-16 and weighed 12.5 stone when doctors warned her of her diabetes risk – and thanks to exercise and changing her diet to healthier foods, the star is now down to a size 8-10 and weights 8st 10lbs.
