‘Bachelor’ Contestant Caroline Lunny Reflects on Being Body-Shamed After the Show: ‘You’re Such a Fat Joke’

How the World Sees Her

“I’m definitely one of the curvier women to have ever been on The Bachelor,” the 28-year-old divulged. “Not like I’m not worthy to be on [the show] because I’m curvier, [but] I don’t think some people were used to seeing that.”

Harsh Words

She admitted, “I’ve had so many people attack me over my body as if I’m not hard enough on myself as it is. There’s so many people who are like, ‘You kind of look fat here,’ or ‘You kind of put on weight.'”

Internet Trolls

She painfully recalled, “After the show, there was this one person who kept harassing me nonstop and was like, ‘You look fat here.’ They kept calling me ‘Miss Bacon.'”

Horrible Things Said

Caroline held the title of Miss Massachusetts in 2014 and is clearly a stunning woman. However, trolls kept looking to tear her down. “They were like, ‘You couldn’t even win a pageant anywhere else, you had to go to Massachusetts to win because you’re such a fat joke … Miss Piggy.’”

What’s Happening Behind Closed Doors

“It got to me so bad and it was at a time when I had been in this toxic relationship,” Caroline revealed about what was happening in her personal life at the time. “I remember going to my boyfriend at the time and being like, ‘Hey, I can’t believe this is happening to me?’ … He goes, ‘You should use it as motivation at the gym.’” Luckily, she couldn’t stand that negativity for long. “I broke up with him a couple of days later.”

Appreciate Your Body

Now, Caroline wants to remind her followers and fans that “our weight and our body does not define us.” She gushed, “There’s something so beautiful about the female body that it is, literally, daily, changing and growing and shrinking … the female body is just so magnificent in everything it can do.”

Live Your Life

Recently, the former pageant babe posted a side-by-side bikini photo in Vegas that showed how her body has fluctuated the past few years. She used it as a reminder that your size shouldn’t dictate your life. She continued, “It’s just so important to love your body as much as you humanly can every single day. I think life is so f–king fun and we put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect. But, just let your f–king hair down.”

Embracing Herself

However, she confessed that seeing the difference in the photos was difficult at first. “It was really hard because I came across that photo from the last time I was [in Vegas]. I was I think 16 percent body fat and ready to hit the Miss USA stage.”

It’s About the Journey

“I think we’re so quick to beat ourselves up over our bodies … Make it up as you go, one day at a time,” she noted.

One Day at a Time

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve been in that position for years,” she acknowledged about the number on the scale ruling over her life. “Where I feel like, ‘Oh, when I have this body …’ or ‘When I get in shape, it’ll all make sense and it will all work out perfectly.'”

The Poison of Perfection

“I feel like for me if it wasn’t perfect it wasn’t good enough. And, let’s be real, we can’t be perfect all the time and I feel like I’m so hard on myself because my body’s not perfect,” she said.

Lessons Learned

The starlet mentioned that she’s been a work in progress when it comes to body positivity. “I was Facetuning because I was insecure of what people would say. I think it’s really funny, the second you go and you embrace yourself and you embrace your flaws … when you take charge of yourself you kind of remove that power that anyone else has over you to.”

Edit or Real Life?

“I think there’s so much power in just owning our bodies and not Facetuning things because we all are going through it. We keep lying to each other and I think that’s the biggest mistake we’re making as women and as a culture is that we keep lying to each other via social media about this glorified reality,” the realtor explained.

Love Yourself

She continued, “No one can take that away from you when you’re like, ‘Hey, this is my body and I love it anyway so go f–k yourself.'”

You’ll Get There

“Just love the body you have today and it doesn’t mean you have to constantly have this perfect body. We are works in progress and I think, as cheesy as it sounds, that it’s kind of about the journey.”

It’s About Balance

The starlet wants to encourage people to live their lives to the fullest. “Hey, have the pizza, have the wine, but also go to spin class. And don’t go to spin class to punish yourself for living a little.”

Be Good to Your Body

The Florida resident loves to go to spin class because it’s a time to let loose and dance on the bike. She added, “It’s not about feeling skinny. It’s about, you know, just being happy. I think we’re so quick to not be happy.”

Help From Her Family

Caroline raved about the Boss Body Academy, a program run by her sister to help people ditch dieting.

Caroline Lunny and Arie ABC’s “The Bachelor” – Season 22