Some of you may have already heard of Donna Simpson, a 42 year-old, New Jersey mother of two, who last year claimed that she was planning to reach a weight of 1000lbs to become the world’s fattest woman. Donna, who was eating up to 12,000 calories a day, to reach her target, was something of a celebrity to some “Fat acceptance” groups and fat fetish websites, but now, in a surprising turnaround, Donna says she plans to seek help in order to “drastically change her lifestyle”
Donna, who is already the heaviest woman to have ever given birth, claims that the change of heart was brought about by the end of her relationship with her fiance of five years. Realising that she would now be solely responsible for the care of her children, Donna realised that she couldn’t afford to keep damaging her health the way that she was. A statement on her website reads:
I’d like to share something personal with the world. I recently split with my fiancée of five years and moved with my two children back to my home town in Ohio. This life changing move made me realize something important. The health and welfare of my family was always my priority and they were well taken care of by my ex. Now that I have sole responsibility of taking care of my children, I must drastically change my lifestyle. Most people see me as a woman who became famous for wanting to gain weight while the rest of the world was trying to slim down. This was true as I was in a relationship that was based on a fetish that exists only in a fantasy.
I have only myself to blame for the position I am currently in and I must now face the greatest challenge of my life. In order for the people I love most to have a happy and healthy life; I must regain my emotional and physical well-being. This won’t be easy and I cannot accomplish this on my own. To reach the goals I’ve set for myself, it will be necessary to have a support team to guide me through this process.
I know I need the help of a therapist to help me come to terms with the abuse I’ve suffered growing up and the various experiences that have made me the woman I have become. It is also quite apparent that I will need to be under the care of a physician to treat the various conditions I suffer from. Obviously, a major part of this transition will be losing weight. Diet, exercise and the right attitude need to be established and this will not happen overnight, but I believe in myself and what I can accomplish if I put my mind to it.
At this time I would like to thank and maybe apologize to all my fans. I realize this statement will be met with mixed emotions. The people that admired me as a “super-sized big beautiful web model” probably will be disappointed in this decision. The thousands of people that have sent me hate mail will either think this is some publicity stunt or maybe they will become supporters. Either way, I assure you I am sincere in my desire to change.
To the many fans that have become members of my websites I ask that you understand that this is not an easy decision and I thank you for your love and support. But this is something that I must do for myself and my family and I ask that you take your last looks at the old Donna. We will be transitioning to a family oriented website and you will be able to follow my progress on this journey. The website will soon feature a personal blog and I will post my new experiences as they happen. You will also be able to see new and uplifting photos of my friends, my family, and me.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the fans, my friends and family that understood who the real person was behind some of the negative images that were created by the media.
There are two things that really strike me about this story. The first, is the unpsoken acknowledgement that she was eating herself into an early grave, a sort of “suicide by food”. She knew that she wouldn’t be around to look after her children, she just didn’t take action because she believed that her soon-to-be-husband would be. When that reassurance was taken away, she decided to change her ways.
The second, is the existence of a community that knowingly encourages women to seriously jeopardise their health in order to satisfy a sexual fetish. At the beginning of her statement, Donna refers to “a fetish that only exists in fantasy”. Is this the idea that a person can lead a healthy, active and sexual life in a condition that renders them almost unable to move?! Do the men who admire and encourage these women feel any guilt or responsibility when these women suffer health problems or die? Honestly, can any of them claim that they didn’t realise that they were taking advantage of someone who was mentally sick?
Donna has, unsurprisingly received a fair amount of negative publicity regarding her comments in the past, but we at BodyGeeks, sincerely wish her all the best. Regaining her emotional and physical well-being will be tough, as she says, but thankfully, she seems to realise that her life, and her children, are worth the effort.
