Overcoming judgment
Their long-distance relationship soon turned into something more permanent, with Amalie moving to England to be with Sean. However, their relationship wasn’t always free from judgment.
According to Sean, strangers often made insensitive comments, wondering why he, a slim man, would want to be with her.
People often asked if he had some kind of fetish, but Sean always made it clear that her weight wasn’t what mattered to him. He fell in love with who she was, not with a number on a scale.
Despite their strong bond, outside scrutiny sometimes took a toll. In a 2019 interview, the couple revealed that while most people in their lives had been supportive, they’d had to cut ties with Sean’s father. The exact circumstances remained private.
A message of self-love
Amalie used media and that platform to speak out against fatphobia, especially in the medical field, and to spread a message of self-acceptance.
“If I was ever to go back and speak to a younger Amalie, I would say, ‘Stop wasting time hating yourself. Yes, your body is different, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad body,’” she said.
”You will never be able to stop people from saying things about you. You will never be able to stop them from looking at you. But you can stop letting it affect you. And you also need to know that you will find people who love you—who love your body for what it is.”
There’s a lot to be said about encouraging people to keep a healthy lifestyle, but perhaps even more to be said about not shaming people.
