Former Big Brother star and wife-to-be Chanelle Hayes has shown off her incredible 9 stone weight loss in a vibrant yellow bikini whilst holidaying abroad with her family.
The ex-reality star, 35 – who appeared on the eighth series of Big Brother in 2007 aged just 19 – proudly flaunted her new physique as she soaked up some sun during her recent vacation to Corfu, Greece.
The mother-of-two – who shares son Blakely, 11, with former footballer Matthew Bates and son Frankie, four, with ex-partner PE teacher Ryan Oates – appeared calm and relaxed as she took a dip in the pool, taking some well-earned time off from her nursing degree.
The trip comes just months after the former glamour model made the brave decision to have a gastric band fitted, having struggled with her fluctuating weeks in the years since rising to the spotlight.
Chanelle – who last year exclusively announced her engagement to boyfriend Dan Bingham with OK! – went under the knife back in August 2020, impressively losing around eight stone in the months that followed.
Since undergoing the life-changing gastric band procedure, Chanelle has spoken candidly about her changing body on a regular basis in the hope of inspiring her 120,000 Instagram followers to feel positive in the skin they're in.
She regularly posts snaps emphasising that many images we see on social media have been altered or edited, or showing pictures of her pre-surgery body and post-surgery body, stressing that both are equally beautiful.
Chanelle also confided in us during her exclusive engagement shoot last year that though she was overjoyed with the results of her procedure, she had put wedding dress shopping on hold as she prepared to undergo more surgery.
When asked if she's decided on the perfect style she has in mind, the mum-of-two revealed: "Not yet because I’m getting my boobs done in January, and until then I don’t even want to look at a wedding gown."
She added: "I’m also considering a tummy tuck to get rid of some of the loose skin I’ve developed since losing so much weight.
"I feel like nothing would fit properly until those two things are done and that would get me down. I don’t know whether I would have wanted to get married if I was still bigger."
"But I am excited because I feel confident as I am now," she explained. "I know I definitely don’t want a big meringue-style dress and will probably go for something quite simple, but I’m not deciding anything for certain just yet."
Chanelle's happy holiday snap comes just days after the star took to Instagram to share the sad news that she'd been encountering mental health struggles over the festive period.
Posting a selfie online, the former Channel 4 star wrote: "Happy new year guys… or is it? I've not really posted much over Christmas and New Year as I've had so much work to do both for my degree, actual work work and then obviously trying to squeeze all this around spending quality time with my family."
She added: "It's been a lot. I feel challenged. I feel a little lost and overwhelmed at how fast the years are going and that maybe I'm not going anywhere with them. Like I'm stuck.
"I saw so many fabulous, happy, celebratory posts over the last few weeks and rightly so. But I didn't really see anybody acknowledging that sooooo many people are sad at this time of year. I bet many of us are, but behind our screens and through our feeds we paint a different picture.
"I just wanted to post to say it's ok to feel overwhelmed, there's no need to hide it, and so I'm not. This week has been rubbish and I've got so much to do this year I'm just dreading it I have knots in my stomach. If you're feeling like this too, you're not on your own."
Fans quickly ran to Chanelle's support however, with model Imogen Thomas commenting: "Sending u so much love. Each day at a time [heart emojis]".
Steve Madden's official UK page also wrote "Sending love" on the emotional post.
One fan also heaped praise on Chanelle for her honesty, writing: "Thank you so much for sharing a normal post, so many share posts that are pretentious, every day isn't always happy and positive. Take care and enjoy the good days".
Another continued: "So true. Everyone was posting how much of an amazing year and I think it's such an untrue reflection. Sending love and thank you for sharing this as it has made my feelings feel so much more normal".
READ MORE:
To read the very best of today’s OK! content from breaking news to Royals and TV – CLICK HERE
'Burning' William and Kate 'set to make statement this week' after Harry's bombshell memoir
Call The Midwife fans go wild as EastEnders legend pops up on show
Harry addresses Prince Andrew's 'shameful scandal' after Jeffrey Epstein link
For all your daily celebrity news and gossip, sign up to OK!’s newsletter – CLICK HERE
Source: Read Full Article