A bride-to-be underwent a £10,000 operation to remove 1 stone of excess skin in time for her wedding.
Lauren Brunton, 26, from Camber in East Sussex, shed 5 stone but the weight loss left her with unsightly folds she was desperate to lose in time for her nuptials.
So her mother ‘gifted’ her an early wedding present of £10k to undergo the dramatic skin-removal procedure.
Lauren had ballooned to 19 stone after enjoying a diet of pizza and doughnuts, developing two fatty folds of skin on her chest that which resembled a second pair of breasts.
After dropping 5 stone she formed an ‘apron’ of excess skin around her middle leaving Lauren convinced her partner was going to leave her.
Lauren ballooned to 19 stone after gorging on a diet of pizza, crisps, chocolate, biscuits – and her schoolmates ccalled her ‘Fatty’ and ‘Lardy’
Lauren got in shape just in time for her wedding to fiancé John, who proposed shortly after their dramatic weight loss. She was walked down the aisle by her brother Ashley
Unsightly: After dropping 5 stone, Lauren formed an ‘apron’ of excess skin around her middle (pictured) leaving her convinced her partner was going to leave her
But instead John, 27, proposed which left Lauren dreading the prospect of having to buy a plus-sized gown to hide her rolls of skin.
Until her generous mum, Sue, 57, gave her the ultimate present – surgery that Lauren later discovered mirrored that, which Loose Women star, Lisa Riley, had had the same day as her.
Surgery let her wear her dream wedding dress
Lauren wanted surgery – including a tummy tuck – to remove the loose skin she had, but in late 2016 learnt that she wasn’t eligible for treatment on the NHS
She said: ‘When Mum offered to pay for my surgery she wouldn’t take no for an answer. ‘I can never thank her enough. I will be forever grateful for what she did.
‘She has enabled me to feel more confident and be happy in my own skin.’
Lauren told how she was big growing up and ‘ate anything and everything’ – chicken pizza, crisps, chocolate, biscuits – and the kids called her ‘Fatty’ and ‘Lardy’. Aged 14 her parents separated and she found solace in food.
‘Binge’ habit that made her balloon to 19 stone
‘I binge ate and then most evenings felt terrible so I’d make myself sick,’ she remembered. By 17 she weighed 15 stone. It was then she met her now-husband and could not believe he wanted her number.
Lauren after her dramatic weight loss, which left her with folds of excess skin around her torso
Happy bride: Lauren picked out this size 16 strapless number, and she was bowled over by her reflection. ‘I would have never considered that style before,’ she said
‘How was he interested in me?’ she said, recalling how John was slim and worked out. Even so, they swapped numbers and three months later he moved in with her and her mum.
However, Lauren felt self-conscious eating in front of him and left her food; and would only change clothes once he had left the room.
‘One night John asked why I wouldn’t let him see my body,’ Lauren said. ‘I felt ashamed.
‘But even after I gained an extra four stone over the next few years and wore a size 22/24, John didn’t say a word and I didn’t say how I felt. He hated me putting myself down.’
The turning point that made her change her ways
Then several years later, when Lauren was at her biggest, her best friend Chloe, 32, asked what the two flaps of fat growing under her breasts were, and Lauren knew she had to lose weight.
‘I was 22 and hated how I looked,’ the holiday services manager said. ‘I had these flaps, which I would hide under several loose-fitting tops.
Lauren with John before her weight loss. His proposal left Lauren dreading the prospect of having to buy a plus-sized gown to hide her rolls of skin
When Lauren was at her biggest, her best friend Chloe (pictured) asked what the two flaps of fat growing under her breasts were, and Lauren knew she had to lose weight
‘When Chloe saw them by accident she was gob-smacked and said they weren’t normal. ‘My mum was shocked too. She said she’d never seen anything like it.’
Her doctor told her she would require surgery to remove them. In the meantime she was advised to lose weight, and prescribed tablets to get rid of the fat cells, which she took intermittently for one year.
In March 2015, tipping the scales at 17 stone and a size 18/20, she joined Slimming World and started eating healthier meals of fresh meat and salad.
With time the weight dropped off, but that saw the two flaps on her chest protrude even further. ‘I thought John was going to leave me,’ she said. However, instead the bathroom showroom manager proposed that September.
How weight loss left her with ‘apron’ of skin
Over the coming months Lauren’s mum grew eager for them to go wedding dress shopping – but by early 2016 Lauren had lost five stone, leaving her with excess skin around her waistline.
Describing her body pre-surgery (pictured), Lauren said: ‘I had so much loose skin I wore body-shaping garments to hold everything in, and tucked it in my waistband’
Lauren with her surgeon ahead of the procedure, which removed the excess skin around her middle
Lauren in surgery. Explaining her decision to undergo the procedure she said: ‘I loathed the thought of walking down the aisle in a plus-size dress to hide it all. I wanted to lose more before I bought a dress’
The surgery saw medics remove the mounds of excess skin which had left Lauren feeling self-conscious
She said: ‘I had so much loose skin I wore body-shaping garments to hold everything in, and tucked it in my waistband. ‘I loathed the thought of walking down the aisle in a plus-size dress to hide it all. I wanted to lose more before I bought a dress.’
Finally in August 2016 Lauren picked out a size 16 strapless number, and she was bowled over by her reflection. ‘I would have never considered that style before,’ she said.
‘But it sat comfortably, you couldn’t see the flaps. It was stunning. I cried. I could finally picture myself walking down the aisle.’
Even so, Lauren wanted surgery – including a tummy tuck – to remove the loose skin she had, but in late 2016 learnt that she wasn’t eligible for treatment on the NHS.
Kind gesture was her ‘wedding gift’
She said: ‘Mum reassured me we’d find a private surgeon but I couldn’t afford it. John and I had put our money towards a house and paying for the wedding. I was devastated.’
However, after they spoke to a surgeon at the Bella Vou Pantiles Clinic, in Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, her mum surprised her by saying she would pay.
Lauren pictured before (left) and after her dramatic weight loss. She wanted surgery – including a tummy tuck – to remove the loose skin she had, but in late 2016 learnt that she wasn’t eligible for treatment on the NHS
Lauren with her mother Sue, who agreed to pay for her surgery ahead of their big day
Following her dramatic transformation, John teared up when he saw Lauren on their wedding day (pictured), during which she wore her dream strapless dress
Lauren recalled: ‘The next day she said she’d paid the deposit. I was so grateful. It felt like an early wedding present.’
On 16 February last year Lauren went in for the five-hour surgery – performed by surgeon Amir Nakhdjevani – to have the excess skin removed from her chest and waistline.
Her mum and best mate went with her, and Lauren said: ‘I was so scared Chloe kept making jokes to stop me worrying. ‘But I had nothing to fear, and after surgery – though I felt sore and groggy – I felt fantastic. I knew it had been worth it.’
Dream wedding where she felt ‘beautiful’
For the next nine weeks Lauren stayed home to heal. Then, six months and one day after surgery, on 17 August Lauren and John said ‘I do’ at The Cooden Beach Hotel, in Bexhill-on-Sea, in East Sussex.
Lauren said: ‘I’d picked a size 16 dress, but after surgery it had to be altered to make it smaller. It was a strapless dress that I couldn’t have imagined being able to wear before.
‘As I walked down the aisle with my brother Ashley, 34 – who gave me away – and my bridesmaids, I felt so confident and saw John well up.
He said, ‘You look beautiful’, and later everyone said how lovely I looked. It’s all thanks to Mum.’
In March this year Lauren had further surgery to remove a little more excess skin, and minimise her scarring.