Trust me: the before-and-after pictures of Mama June’s weightloss transformation are worth spending a good five minutes of time (preferably work time) staring at.
ICYMI, as part of her Mama June: From Not To Hot reality series, mum-of-four Mama June underwent gastric-band surgery and a rigorous workout routine to lose as much as 136kg(!!!) in less than a year.
Following that, she endured myriad complex surgeries to remove excess skin from her body, including a gastric sleeve, breast augmentation, as well as extra skin removal from her arms, neck and stomach.
^Seriously, you can barely redneckognise her.
Alright, but let’s rewind 12 months…
Mama June has had her heart well and truly pummelled; not only has she split up with her husband Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson, but he, for some reason (cough ratings), has invited her along to watch him marry another woman.
Salt to a wound? Try arsenic.
^She got you, Mama.
And it is this invitation – to witness the man she loves marry somebody else – that became the catalyst for Mama June to embark on a weightloss journey that would see her showing up to said nuptials with the ultimate ‘revenge body’.
“When Sugar Bear sees the new and improved me at his wedding, he’s gonna be so jealous about what he’s missing out on.”
Her words, not mine.
A ‘revenge body’ comes about when someone has broken your heart in [insert expletive here] fashion, then you literally work your butt off so that when you see your ex again, they magically regret hurting you in an instant.
Well, that’s the plan, anyway…
Although, the problem with Mama June’s ‘revenge body’ lies within the entire premise of her new reality show; it’s solely centred around her drastically altering the way she looks for someone else.
Worryingly, throughout the show, Mama June constantly refers to her anxiousness about what Sugar Bear (of all people) will think when he sees her for the first time post-surgeries.
“I know I look good, but I am kind of nervous,” she says.
“This will be the first time I’ve seen Sugar Bear since the surgery, and I don’t know what he’s going to think.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”
Mama June before she had the hours’ worth of surgery it took to remove her excess skin after her dramatic weightloss.
Some people may resonate with this, because, hey, we’re human. Love can suck, and ‘winning’ the break-up (AKA appearing happier now than you ever were with your ex) can feel like a matter of urgency when you’re recovering from a broken heart.
Some may also be thinking, “Mama June looks good and says she feels great! So what if she did all of this for someone else?”
But therein lies the problem – it must be about YOU and you alone.
Repeat these four words after me: SCREW THE REVENGE BODY.
Don’t let someone who has categorically drop-kicked your heart have ownership of the extra hours doctors spent meticulously liposuctioning your arms. The weeks spent in excruciating pain recovering from multiple major surgeries. The countless days spent in hospitals beds across the U.S., worrying about being away from your daughters, Chickadee, Chubbs, Pumpkin, Honey Boo Boo for too long. The numerous occasions you threw up because you’d eaten too much food for your gastric band to handle.
FYI Mama June: Sugar Bear did none of that. Every single sacrifice you made, every second of pain you endured is all down to you.
Lots of us have complicated relationships with our bodies. But the decision to lose weight should be for you ONLY.
Psychologically, some of us who’ve lost a great deal of weight still struggle with poor body image and self-worth, even if they look absolutely incredible.
This is why we truly have to have a healthy body AND a healthy mind. Sure, the breakup could’ve been the catalyst to get Mama June started on becoming her happiest and healthiest self, but I worry this isn’t the case and promoting others to get a ‘revenge body’ could be detrimental to other people’s mental health.
And at the end of the day, showcasing a ‘revenge body’ might be satisfying in the short-term…
But this body is YOURS – and no-one else’s.
