said she gets comments about her weight ‘every day,’ but she’s ‘proud to be a big girl’ despite the trolls.
The host, 46, has been open about her struggles, recently in a segment discussing obesity.
So moved by a caller’s story, Alison bravely shared how she’s had obesity ‘all her life’ and that she wants people to realise it is a ‘disease.’
Now, the former star – who shot to fame as a housemate in 2002 – has opened up about the painful trolling she’s received.
Alison said she’s learnt to grow a thick skin since the fatphobic comments are constant.
Speaking on Lorraine Kelly and daughter Rosie’s What If? podcast, she said: ‘Oh my gosh, like every day. Literally, I’m sure there’s a tweet or a message, I think I saw a message yesterday from someone, something along the lines of I need to lose 40 stone, I’m thinking I’m not even 40 stone!
‘That would mean I’d be nothing. I’d be dead. Stupid woman. She said that, and I get it all the time, and I know I’m overweight, everyone can see I’m overweight, it’s not a surprise to know I’m overweight.’
Alison continued: ‘Why do people feel the need to tell me something that is so blatantly obvious and maybe think that I’ve probably told myself it a hundred times before anyway so I don’t really need anyone to tell me I’m overweight because I see myself every single day.
‘It’s a describing word isn’t it? You’re saying to me I’m fat. Thank you. Ok. And where do we go from there?’
The much-loved TV star added that she likes ‘taking up a little bit of space’ and is ‘ok with it’ as she isn’t ‘hurting anyone.’
‘None of us are getting out of this. We’re all gonna die eventually, I might die a little bit sooner, but you know what, I’m gonna live my life to the fullest.
‘And if I do die soon, I’m going to have fantastic life,’ she said proudly.
Alison touched viewers’ hearts a few weeks back when she sobbed on co-host Dermot O’Leary’s shoulder about people’s misconceptions around body size.
She said people think if you are big, that means you are ‘lazy,’ while failing to realise that ‘your regulation system is out of whack.’
‘You can’t control wanting to eat all the time,’ she said.
Alison was inundated with messages of support after sharing her experiences, and was praised by her colleagues for how she will have helped others.
What If? with Lorraine & Rosie is available on Apple podcasts.
