I stopped eating for a week and plummeted in weight after being branded Dan Osborne’s ‘fat other woman’
BACK in April, Steph Ledigo was enjoying a carefree night out in LA with a group of mates - including former Towie hunk Dan Osborne.
But the next day, she woke to the news she'd been papped and named as the married reality star's 'other woman' - with total strangers tearing into her appearance.
The size 16 PR guru, from Manchester, was devastated and went on a crash diet - which saw her lose a stone in a week.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous Digital, Steph said: "I felt awful when I saw that. I didn’t know the pictures were being taken and I looked horrendous.
"Every comment was really negative, because I was slouched over and wearing a crop top, my tummy was hanging over my jeans.
"Everyone was saying I looked bad and had no arse. I thought the same, I looked dreadful.
"But I was relaxed, I was out with my friends and had just eaten a massive meal. I remember eating loads of nachos.
"I was getting non-stop messages. I started dieting straight after, the next day."
Steph, 34, regularly works with celebs from Towie, Real Housewives of Cheshire and Hollyoaks through her company Go PR Events.
She has known personal trainer Dan, 27, for five years.
I felt awful - every comment was really negative
Steph Ledigo
The dad-of-three is married to EastEnders actress Jacqueline Jossa, 26, but the couple have split and reunited several times since tying the knot in June 2017 - amid cheating rumours.
The couple have two daughters together, while Dan has a son called Teddy from a previous relationship.
Despite working with celebs for years, Steph says the experience gave her a new insight into the pressures surrounding showbiz life.
She said: "I got papped at the airport too. Because I’m not used to it, I had my hair in a ponytail, no make-up on and wearing an I Heart LA jumper.
";I didn’t think there would be photographers there, I looked dreadful, it was an 11-hour flight.
"I didn’t even read the comments on that story, because I thought they were going to be so bad.
"It was embarrassing and I also felt bad for Dan, because it was all completely innocent.
"People were saying ‘he’s married’, but I’m like ‘there’s no relationship there, we’re friends’. If I’d been a man, it would have been no story.
It was embarrassing and I also felt bad for Dan, because it was all completely innocent
Steph Ledigo
"I worried it would be damaging to my business. The comments were really bad, but luckily my friends and family knew it was ridiculous.
"It was stressful. I’m quite private and having something like that out there wasn’t ideal.
"When I got back home, there were paparazzi outside my house and that’s never happened to me before. It made me feel uncomfortable leaving the house.
"I work with celebrities every day but I’ve never experienced that side of it before."
Steph weighed 14.5 stone and was a size 16 when she partied with Dan in LA, but has since shrunk to an 11 stone size 10.
Having previously been much bigger, weighing 24 stone until the age of 27, she found the anonymous fat-shamers brought back old anxieties.
She explained: "It took me a week to lose a stone, it was falling off that quickly. I just didn’t feel like eating that first week, it wasn’t a priority.
"I’m still dieting now but just trying to be a bit easier on myself.
When I got those comments from strangers it brought all the fat-shaming back, so I just panicked
Steph Ledigo
"I was 24 stone for most of my life. I’d already lost a lot of weight, the horrible comments I used to get when I was massive stopped.
"I was feeling confident until that happened. I used to be a size 26, so for me to be a size 16 was a good thing.
"Then when I got those comments from strangers it brought everything back, so I just panicked.
"I thought I was happy like this, but then I wasn’t."
Steph has lost three-and-a-half stone in just three months, by waking at 5.30am to get her 10,000 steps in and not eating anything after 6pm.
She said: "I still eat a family sized bag of chocolate buttons every single day. I can’t stop, it’s like an addiction.
"When I was really big, I would eat huge meals plus two or three family bags, so I have cut down.
"Now I don't eat any carbs. I just started boxing and do hot yoga in Cheshire.
"Because I lost the weight really quickly, you're left with no figure, so I'm trying to get back in shape.
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"I work with a lot of celebs - from Real Housewives of Cheshire, Towie and Hollyoaks.
"Everyone’s always nice, but I feel like in this industry people are always nicer when you’ve lost weight."
Yesterday, we spoke to a woman who lied to get a free nose job on the NHS, now she's been signed off work due to ‘trolls’ but spend her days at the gym and nail salon.