An anonymous woman has claimed she was forced to drop out of her childhood friend's bridal party after being told to "gain weight" ahead of the wedding - even though she has struggled with her body image for years.
The woman said she was supposed to be a bridesmaid for her friend and was excited to take part in the ceremony, but was left feeling uncomfortable when she was asked to put on weight, as she had previously been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
And while the woman has more confidence in herself now and has turned her eating disorder battle into something that "empowers" her, she claimed her friend thought she would look "odd" when stood next to the other bridesmaids.
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In a post on Reddi t, she said: "I have a childhood friend named Natalie. She's getting married soon and she's picked me to be one of her bridesmaids. I agreed because I felt honoured to be included as I've never been a bridesmaid before.
"The issues started arising after she kept making strange requests and I went along with them. Then, she brought up my weight (or lack thereof) and asked if I could gain weight before the wedding.
"For context, I'm underweight due to an eating disorder. I have struggled with body image and stuff, and now I've come to terms with how I look and have turned this negative thing into something that empowers me to live my life how I want.
"I turned her down but she went on to rant about how odd it'll be for me to 'look like that' and insisted I consider it. I was willing to let this go if she dropped it but she doubled down and sent me a 'diet' to get me to gain weight.
"This triggered me as I've been forced before to eat more/less [in the past] and I didn't feel comfortable [with it]. I returned the list and said no. She got upset and said I need to do this or won't be a bridesmaid anymore."
The woman refused to budge on the issue as she was determined to put her own health first, and decided instead to drop out of being a bridesmaid at the wedding.
She added: "I said 'fine, I'm no longer a bridesmaid then'. She went nuts begging and pleading and sending her family to tell me to do what she says. [They say I should] go with the flow because she has no one else to replace me and that 'she picked me for a reason'.
"I'm feeling under pressure and feel guilty for her to be in this position. I asked my boyfriend and he said 'of course she picked you for a reason, and that's because you have a hard time saying no'."
Commenters on the Reddit post were firmly on the woman's side, as many of them said that no one should influence her to do anything she's uncomfortable with - especially when it comes to her own body.
One person said: "Not only should you drop out as a bridesmaid, you should drop out of her life. This person is not your friend. They care more about having the 'perfect' looking day than about your well-being."
While another added: "You're not comfortable with the bride's request, and the decent thing she should do would be to drop the subject. Instead, she turned into a certified bridezilla. Stick to your no and take care of your health."
And a third wrote: "Honour your body, your feelings and your needs. Say no to her and tell her to take her wedding and shove it up her ass. She has absolutely NO right to insist on you changing YOUR body and shaming you for how you look because of HER day."
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