This woman has gained 100-plus pounds during her 10-year marriage — and her husband loves her even more

Kerry Justich
·Health and Wellness Staff Writer
Allison Kimmey invited her husband to write a note about how his love for her has evolved, as she’s gained weight. (Photo: Instagram/allisonkimmey)
Allison Kimmey invited her husband to write a note about how his love for her has evolved, as she’s gained weight. (Photo: Instagram/allisonkimmey)

Allison Kimmey is a social media influencer, known to her more than 180,000 followers for sharing stories and photos from what she calls her self-love journey. Starting with letting go of an unhealthy obsession with her body nearly five years ago, Kimmey has documented the process of learning to love herself, which has resulted in her throwing out the scale and having fluctuating weight. But now, her husband, Ted, is speaking out on her platform to share his side of the journey, as he’s stuck by Allison’s side, regardless of her shape or size.

Addressing a plethora of comments and questions from followers about how to go through weight gain with a significant other, Allison decided to hand the post over to Ted so that he could express his feelings regarding his wife’s struggle throughout their near-decade-long marriage. Alongside a slideshow of photos that show the pair evolving from the time they met at age 15 until now, nearly 16 years later, his heartfelt note leads to one conclusion: Whether Allison is a size 4 or size 18, her husband loves her unconditionally.

15 years, 2 kids, 100s of pounds gained -lost – and otherwise, 1 self love journey…here’s how my husband REALLY feels about his plus size wife from his own words (and enjoy the slideshow!): “I love my wife, I really do. Well at least I thought I did, until she fell in love with herself and gained some weight. What happened next is something I didn’t even realize was possible – I FELL EVEN MORE IN LOVE WITH HER! More in love with her than I’ve ever been and it continues to grow with each new day. When she asked me to do this post, I didn’t really know how to approach it. I decided to make a list, from a husband’s perspective, of the pros and cons about this new found relationship with my voluptuously beautiful woman, Allison. Hopefully these details will shed some light on the life shaking benefits of self love and holistic wellness, while also encouraging couples, husbands and wives to step outside their comfort zone and embrace living life to its fullest and loving without end – especially YOURSELF. So here it goes: PROS •Her with all those curves, and me with no brakes! The self love glow is enough to make your head spin in all the right ways! Our love life is deeper and more sensual than it’s ever been. Confidence is truly sexy! •I love seeing her in all these new swimsuits and outfits – who doesn’t love looking at their woman in a BIKINI?!!?! Or in a new dress?!!? VA VA VOOM! •She’s truly HAPPY – as the rock of our family, this leads to a positive home environment and a lot of smiles/dancing/laughter in the household. We rarely have a bad day. •She’s found herself and her passion – as a leader and parent, I could not ask for a better role model and mother for our daughter and son. •Her “just do you” attitude and outlook has led me to embrace my body as well for what it is. •We talk more – we hug more – we kiss more – we spend more time together – not because we have to, because we want to! •Less focus on worrying about others, diets, scales and the pressures of society has led to more time spent in deep thought provoking and purposeful conversation about life and love. ~cont. in comments~

A post shared by ALLIE Just Do You, Babe! (@allisonkimmey) on May 2, 2018 at 10:02am PDT

“I love my wife, I really do,” Ted wrote. “Well at least I thought I did, until she fell in love with herself and gained some weight. What happened next is something I didn’t even realize was possible — I fell even more in love with her!”

Ted explains that his growing love for his wife — having nothing to do with the weight that she was gaining, or losing — was a result of her greater appreciation of herself and the things in her life that she loves.

“She’s truly happy,” he continued. “As the rock of our family, this leads to a positive home environment and a lot of smiles/dancing/laughter in the household. We rarely have a bad day. She’s found herself and her passion — as a leader and parent, I could not ask for a better role model and mother for our daughter and son.”

And although Allison knew all of this herself, she tells Yahoo Lifestyle why it was so important for others to hear those words from him.

A fun little #throwbackthursday for you all! Left photo was from circa 2006. I just started college in Boston. I chopped my hair (after a bad idea to get a perm – why did no one tell me to just get a curling iron ‍♀️) and then thought that these Jessica Simpson/ ken paves clip ins were looking legit and natural. We were bouncing around some cool places in NYC and even went to go see Chicago and I literally had no clue what I was doing with life…which you can totally see written all over my face. Those years were tough being away at college, not knowing anyone, and then planning a wedding and graduating in 3 years while still trying to maintain perfect grades, be the president of the women’s leadership organization and fashion association, and help start up a company all while losing approx 40lbs. Let’s put it this way- the last decade was just me trying to figure my shit out after all of it. I’ve failed more times than I can count. I’ve been fearful of failing again, of succeeding, of not being enough, of being too much, of never ever living up to who I truly am. But the photo on the right is proof that if you just keep getting back up again, you’ll be led to where you need to go. I still gave setbacks every single day- but I’ve been shown my purpose and I know that if I follow it I will always feel fulfilled. I have peace within myself, I’ve cut down the noise of everything going on around me, and even though the voices that tell me I’m not good enough to succeed are still there – the one that shouts “but what if you are?” has remained the loudest. Just do you babes! Xoxo Allie

A post shared by ALLIE Just Do You, Babe! (@allisonkimmey) on Mar 1, 2018 at 7:16am PST

“As humans we want to be accepted, and part of that is being desired,” she says. “In a society that tells us that fat is the worst thing we can be, it is an anomaly to see a couple that is thriving despite any physical changes.”

But more important, Ted didn’t even understand why people would believe that any feelings would change because of the physical.

“He didn’t particularly understand the question I wanted him to answer,” she continues, “because for him it was never a question of whether or not my body would change the way he felt about me.”

However, his unfiltered words of love and appreciation for his wife, despite what she’s been through mentally, emotionally, and physically during this journey, have already provided followers with positive reinforcement about their own selves and relationships.

“I soooo needed to read this,” one follower commented. “Sometimes I wonder if my fiancé will still look at me the same after kids/weight gain and this just takes all my worry away!! I’ll just do me.”

For Allison Kimmey, being pregnant with her children marked two of the many major weight gains she faced that she immediately tried to rectify with what she calls “yo-yo” dieting. But she now hopes that her husband’s statement allows followers to see that experiences, such as giving birth to beautiful kids, aren’t about being “attractive.”

To be honest I had my children less than two years apart because I couldn’t lose the baby weight I had gained during my first pregnancy, so I literally said let’s just get this over with. Turned out to be the best decision I ever made because these two – THESE TWO – are best friends. I N S E P E R A B L E. They imagine together, they create together, they read together, they go to school together, they fight together, they watch shows together, they pick on each other. I cannot understand the relationship that they have, but I am beyond grateful that they get to experience the love and understanding of a sibling. #nationalsiblingday

A post shared by ALLIE Just Do You, Babe! (@allisonkimmey) on Apr 10, 2018 at 6:28pm PDT

“Becoming enlightened about who we are underneath all of the shoulds and shouldn’ts of society opens us up to the mental and spiritual clarity that can only come from finding unconditional self-love,” Allison explains. “I hope that women, and their partners, are able to read this and start a conversation within themselves that says, ‘I am worthy and deserving of the love I so freely give to others.’”

And between two people who can garner that love for themselves, Allison and Ted agree that the relationship can only grow and get better.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Curvy woman opens up about having ‘Mr. Six-Pack’ as her husband, inspiring thousands
• Daytime talk show co-host gains nearly 20 lbs. after divorce — and feels more like herself
• Men Photoshop their bodies to look better too, according to this fitness influencer

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