Real Housewives: ‘Plus Sized’ Cast Members Promote Body Positivity

Women who appear on the popular Real Housewives franchise are role models for millions of people. In the last few years, some plus sized housewives have been cast. These ladies are breaking the skinny Real Housewives stereotype by showing off curvier bodies. These attractive housewives are also spreading body positivity messages. 

Body image has always been a thing. In the digital age, many people do Zoom calls, Facetime, or post photos of themselves, and also care about their IRL images. Even though there have been numerous body positivity movements, plenty of people do struggle to accept the way that they look. Weight is one of the issues that a lot of people worry about, whether they are plus size or not, and curvier housewives are contributing to the self-acceptance movement. 

Roxy Earle (The Real Housewives of Toronto)

In early 2017, the first and only season of The Real Housewives of Toronto premiered. Fans of the Bravo franchise were excited by this season because Roxy Earle was the first plus size Real Housewife to ever appear on the show. After the premiere, Roxy told Glamour, “I was really proud that I could be a new version of what women consider glamorous… There was some fat shaming on the show and I stood up to it and handled it in a classy way.”

Following Roxy’s appearance on RHOT, she discovered that she had become a body positivity symbol outside of the Real Housewives franchise. When asked what body positivity meant to her, Earle said, “It’s about loving yourself and ending all of this self-hatred and judgment on women and men’s bodies. To me, it’s a call to action for people to [be] more cautious about the way they objectify people’s bodies.” 

Today, Roxy continues to promote self-acceptance on her Instagram platform with her iconic hashtag, #MySizeRox. She is also writing a children’s book about body positivity. This book is being written for young girls. Earle was motivated to write the book because of her two nieces. See Roxy below:

Emily Simpson (The Real Housewives of Orange County)

Emily Simpson joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2018 for season 13 and has been a cast member ever since. Throughout the series, Simpson has been candid about her health struggles and body image issues. When she originally joined the Real Housewives, Emily revealed it took her 35 years to gain confidence about her appearance. At the time, she wrote a powerful message to her followers on Instagram.

She posted: “EVERY time a new episode of RHOC airs, I get so many comments about my body. MOST of them positive. Ladies, teens, tweens, girls… Listen to me… be your OWN kind of cool. Find a style that works for your body type and rock it. Don’t compare yourself to others… It’s taken me 35 years to learn this, but I’ve finally gotten it down. I dress for me. Curvy cool.” 

In 2020, Emily kept body positivity going as she started sharing details of her journey with weight loss and self-care. In the fall, she revealed that she lost 16 pounds and planned on removing her breast implants. She also had a hip transplant at one point. “It’s been a JOURNEY to get to this point right here,” the RHOC star wrote on Instagram. “Ups and downs. Gains and losses.” 

Later on, in 2020, Simpson shared before and after shots of her transformation. “I lost myself and my confidence through gaining 30 pounds in one year in front of millions of people on a reality TV show. Here I am a year and a half later feeling sexy, confident in my own skin and like the EMILY I am meant to be!” Emily showed fans that a person can change and attain more confidence. See Emily post-weight loss below:

Heather Gay (The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City)

Roxy and Emily paved the way for future plus size Real Housewives. One of these women is Heather Gay from the new series, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. The fact that people aren’t fixated on Botox fan Heather’s appearance is a sign of progress. Viewers are increasingly seeing the Housewives as dimensional people whose value isn’t determined by how they look.  

While Heather isn’t a public advocate of body positivity, she is still a symbol of change and acceptance. This RHOSLC star has gone through a lot, specifically in relation to her exit from the Mormon faith. She also got divorced in 2015. Gay often refers to herself as a “good Mormon gone bad”.

She made the decision to join the Real Housewives cast for a special reason. She wanted to make her exit from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publicly known. She said, “I was kind of sick of living in the shadows. I don’t want to say a double life, but I was transitioning out of the faith very slowly.” Heather shared these thoughts with The Salt Lake Tribune. 

Heather’s decision to leave her wealthy husband and the Mormon faith wasn’t an easy one. Having grown up in the church, a big part of her identity was tied to her family and religion. For Gay, divorce meant she was leaving everything behind and starting fresh. However, it was a necessary change. She said, “Let’s just be clear. I didn’t want to grow old with him. I knew that, like day three [of the marriage].” See Heather below:

She admitted that she felt like she failed her husband, kids, and the Church, and this perceived failure was challenging to face. Now, Heather is proud of the decision she made. She believes she’s a good role model for her children. Heather might not be a plus size Real Housewives icon yet, but she’s absolutely an icon for self-acceptance and making positive changes, even if those changes aren’t easy. So are the other Real Housewives featured today.

Source: Glamour,The Salt Lake Tribune

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