A bride-to-be was driven to lose 10 stone and win back her teenage sweetheart when he began dating a slimmer woman.
Stephanie Nicks, 28, was left horrified when ex-boyfriend, care worker Larry Nicks, 30, began dating a thinner colleague.
The size 28 account manager, from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, used to weigh a hefty 20st 9lb but vowed to ditch the flab and win back her ex.
She has since shed an astonishing 10st - almost half her body weight - and is now a slinky size 10. The transformation worked and the couple have since reunited and are now happily married.
Stephanie said: "'My diet was terrible. I'd scoff on kebabs and McDonald's takeaways, followed by crisps and chocolate.
"Over the years, my weight ballooned. I couldn't find any clothes to fit me and I was really self-conscious.
"Larry had always told me that he loved me no matter how big I was, but then we split and he started dating someone much smaller. That's when I realised just how much I had let myself go.
"I knew I couldn't keep eating myself into an early grave."
Stephanie had struggled with her weight since the age of 11, when she started comfort-eating after her best friend moved to a different school.
She began dating Larry aged 16 and the two became engaged in 2007 after he proposed on a romantic trip to Kenya for her 21st birthday.
But years of overeating saw her weight soar to 20st 9lb and Stephanie's confidence plummeted.
The couple split in 2008 following a series of arguments and shortly afterwards Larry began dating another woman.
Stephanie said: "It was bad enough that he'd started seeing someone else, but knowing she was skinnier than me was an extra kick in the teeth.
"I have to admit that I was a bit jealous, and it made me think more about the way I looked."
The shock was the spur Stephanie needed to take action and she joined her local Weight Watchers group.
She said: "I wanted to keep Larry interested, but more importantly improve my health and confidence."
Throwing out all of the junk food from her cupboards, she filled her fridge with fresh fruit and vegetables.
And instead of driving, she began to walk everywhere.
The couple reconciled soon after and within weeks had excitedly set a wedding date.
More ambitious than ever, Stephanie also picked out her wedding dress. The only catch was that it was a size 10 - nine dress sizes smaller than her size at the time.
Stephanie said: "It was a challenge, but it was all the motivation I needed to have the wedding of my dreams.
"As the big day approached, I became more and more nervous about fitting into my dress.
"But I kept up the healthy eating and exercise - there was no way I was going to be a fat bride."
Stephanie hit her target weight a month before the wedding and walked down the isle in her dream dress in September 2012.
But under her dress she was hiding an embarrassing secret.
Stephanie was still unable to flaunt her new figure in fitted dresses and skinny jeans because of a huge sack of loose skin on her stomach due to her former size.
Stephanie said: "It was hideous. I'd worked really hard for my body, but I had to hide it away by dressing like an old lady.
"As well as being unsightly, my jelly belly caused itchy sores and even got in the way in the bedroom.
"In fact I hated it so much, I nicknamed it 'Flabby Abby'!"
After two years of hiding her body Stephanie spoke to her GP and he referred her to a surgeon, who granted Stephanie an operation to remove the skin on the NHS in October last year.
Over the next few weeks her stomach continued to heal and she could finally wear the clothes she'd always dreamed of.
She posted on her Instagram account Slimmer Fitter Steph: "I finally love my tummy. I lost 10st but it was all wrinkly and saggy and it was the most hated part of my body.
"Now I love it the most even with the swelling. I can't wait to wear a bikini next year and feel amazing in it."
Stephanie says she has never felt better.
"I am so much more confident now," she said. "Larry even jokes that he's got a new wife because I'm so much more outgoing.
"Looking back, I can't believe I ever let my weight get so out of control. I'll never go back to being that big again."
