Vanderpump Rules’ OG Katie Maloney-Schwartz had enough of the fat-shaming and addresses it on her Instagram, where she also shares a body-positive message with her followers. The former SURver seems to be hearing and reading a lot of comments about her body and her weight. Although friend and former Vanderpump Rules’ star Brittany Cartwright has openly talked about her baby weight struggles, none of the other ladies have ever been shamed for their appearance on the show.
Katie, who has been part of Vanderpump Rules since season 1, didn’t have it easy for the last nine years on the reality show. Aside from working on her relationship with now-husband Tom Schwartz, rekindling her friendships with some co-stars, and getting called “Tequila Katie,” the reality television star was also the only one who has been fat-shamed, more than once by different people on the show. Fellow co-star James Kennedy has fat-shamed Katie more than once on the show, as well as Lisa Vanderpump’s event planner friend Kevin Lee. The most recent fat-shaming incident was when she and her hubby Tom posted a photo of them on New Year’s Eve, which sparked pregnancy rumors, despite the fact that Katie has never confirmed she was pregnant, only discussed that she and Tom were trying to get pregnant.
In a recent Instagram post, Katie shared her thoughts on a photo that friend and Vanderpum Rules co-star Raquel Leviss posted on her Instagram story wishing Katie a happy birthday. That photo of Katie received a lot of criticism in the comments, with some people saying that she should be “pissed” at Raquel for posting it, as they found it “unflattering.” However, Katie responded by saying that she looks happy in this picture, even if her facial expression gave her “12 chins.” According to People, the constant comments about Katie’s weight and body messed with her head for a long time, to a point where she didn’t even want to take pictures with friends or family. “I should be ashamed of my body, calling out weight gain, weight loss, that I need to dress for my body,” Katie’s Instagram caption read, “but not anymore.” With her post, she wanted to address the fat-shaming once and for all and spread body positivity, as she feels that the work she’s doing is helping her with her self-image. “Self hate/criticism is more damaging than that of others. So really be kinder to yourself, it's not easy some days, I have good and bad, but I'm working at it,” her caption continued.
Her friends, such as Raquel, and even James, who had a different tune not all that long ago, chimed in on her Instagram defending her and applauding her at the same time. In a previous interview with People, Katie shared that bodies change - especially that of women — and that it’s ok to not be the same size as she was at 25. “I think it's just accepting change, and accepting that it's okay,” she told the media outlet. “Our bodies have done nothing but grow and change and grow some more since we were born.”
The Vanderpump Rules’ starlet seems to be handling the social media trolls quite well. Since Katie and her fellow co-stars are part of a reality show, and their lives are being publicly displayed, the haters gonna hate, the best advice for Katie is to just ignore it and be happy.
Vanderpump Rules reunion airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on Bravo.
Source: Katie Maloney-Schwartz/Instagram, People, People