The Bachelor’s Gemma opens up about her 26kg weight loss
By Lucy Bode
August 20 2020
“I was huge compared to everyone else"
By Lucy Bode
August 20 2020
As a quick scroll through Gemma White’s Instagram account will attest, the Bachelor contestant is big on prioritising her health. There are pics of her hiking up Byron Bay lighthouse, eating acai bowls in Bali - even volunteering at a 5km fun run. But it turns out the 28-year-old I Can I Will ambassador wasn’t always in such great shape.
In a previous interview with The Courier Mail, she revealed she’d shed 26 kilos after receiving brutal taunts over her appearance as a child.
“There's nothing wrong with being bigger or smaller, but it's a matter of being happy,” she told the publication.
"I was huge compared to everyone else in my year and I was bullied for that, and the fact is that one in three children are bullied."
At 15, Gemma decided something had to change. She began to address her eating and exercise habits and immediately saw results. But the teasing didn't stop.
"I then copped bullying on the other side with people saying, 'Oh, she must be bulimic', but I was able to overcome that," the reality star said.
Towards the end of her teens, Gemma joined a deportment and modelling school. She gained the confidence to travel to Cambodia to teach English before going on win the Miss Australia Continents pageant in 2017.
"To have my name called as the winner of Miss Australia Continents was a realisation of all my hard work and volunteering and that everything I love has all come together,” she said at the time.
Today, Gemma admits that being bullied taught her many things, including that “an active balanced lifestyle is super important for optimum health.”
"Funny enough the little girl on the left had no health issues and lived a normal childhood (I loved to dance! And still do),” she captioned a post of her younger self on IG.
“The difference is I am now a much happier, healthy and more confident me. I understand the importance of good food and nourishing my body, mind and soul. I exercise because it feels good. I eat well because I feel better for it. I try to enjoy the simple things in life and chocolate (in moderation!) when I want it. I've trained myself to be this way, it's taken a hell of a lot of hard work, dedication and determination.”
“I have iron deficiency needing infusions & 2 autoimmune diseases but this does not stop me living my best life nor do I like talking about them as people will always be quick to judge but I believe beauty shines from within,” she continued. “Our external beauty does not shape who we are. It's our hurdles, obstacles, challenges, triumphs and achievements that define us. We are all unique and beautiful in our own way. Let's embrace our individuality!"
Hear hear, Gemma! Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
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