Every time we get swept away by a love story, whether it’s on a dating reality show or in a captivating romance novel, the leading lady is thin. This happens so often that it leads plus size women and girls to question, “Will I ever be able to have my own love story?” Well, how about a #FatGirlInLove story?

If you can’t be what you can’t see, you may begin to internalize this and believe that you aren’t lovable due to your size. But in reality, countless curvy girls star in their own epic love stories because love knows no size.

The team at contemporary plus size brand Ori, known for ultra comfy elevated basics, created the Valentine’s Day series #fatgirlinlove dedicated to sharing the stories of plus-size women in love.

Ori’s #FatGirlinLove Series for Valentine’s Day!

Fat girl in love Series by Ori #FatGirlinLove — Image via Ori

Representation is crucial and seeing so many beautiful love stories centering around fat women will give just about anyone the warm and fuzzies.

And if you were just about to give up hope for finding love, your faith is about to be restored.

Here are some of our favorite love stories from the #fatgirlinlove series. Grab a box of tissues, it’s about to get real emotional.

First up: Alicia of @curvy_chronicles gets real about waiting to find love.

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In honor of Valentine's Day, we are spotlighting plus-size women who are in love. Because romance stories deserve a plus-size heroine. ⁠⠀ This story comes from Alicia of @curvy_chronicles, another #fatgirlinlove.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ //⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ At 32 years old I had never been on even one date, never had one kiss or even held hands with a guy. I was insecure about my size and feared being rejected because I was fat. It was easier to not try than to try and be shot down. ⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ Brandon, on the other hand, had been in a number of relationships but allowed himself to be treated poorly, convinced he didn’t deserve anything better because of his size. ⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ When we first met, he told me I would never see him with his shirt off and I told him there were parts of my body (my big thighs and drooping stomach) I was scared for him to see.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ If you had asked me six years ago if anyone would ever love my jiggly legs, my squishy stomach or large dimpled butt, you would have been met with a resounding, "NO!" But Brandon does. He doesn’t just ‘put up with them’ because he loves me, he actually loves each and every part of my body, even the parts I don’t love myself. And I, in turn, love every part of his. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ We have both grown more self-confident over the past five years and I know I could never have learned to love and accept my body the way it is now, if it weren’t for Brandon showing me I am worthy, lovable and beautiful at any size.
A post shared by Ori (@orieveryday) on Feb 12, 2020 at 7:51am PST

Alysse from @readytostare shares how she met her husband in-person and how they share a passion for social change.

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Our next #fatgirlinlove is the newlywed Alysse from @readytostare. As we approach Valentine's Day, we will be sharing stories from members of our community who have found love, because all love stories deserve to be told.⁠⠀ Here is Alysse's story:⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ //⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Giovonni and I met at an LGBTQ+ business networking event in Akron, OH. I know it's rare to meet someone in person these days but I truly believe our meeting was fate. We chatted all night and he asked me out at the end of the night. On our first date, we realized that we had both individually been selected as Cleveland Magazine's Most Interesting People of 2018. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ A passion for social change drives us both. Gio is a tireless advocate for transgender rights. He runs a non-profit for transgender youth called META Center Inc and he also works for a LGBTQ+ legal advocacy non-profit. My work over the past 8 years running Ready to Stare has been focused on making fashion more inclusive particularly for those in the plus size and LGBTQ+ communities. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ We've been able to learn from each other, grow and become better advocates. But most importantly, we've found our equal in each other. We complement each other in ways that we didn't know possible. We push each other and we celebrate each other harder than anyone else ever has. Gio has shown me what true love and support looks like and I am grateful to have found a husband like him!
A post shared by Ori (@orieveryday) on Feb 11, 2020 at 1:09pm PST

Victoria of @victoriadonelda had us laughing, crying, and singing in her love story:

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Our next #fatgirlinlove is from none other than beauty guru @victoriadonelda.⁠⠀ Here is Victoria's story:⁠⠀ //⁠⠀ You know that Riri bop where she’s like, “We found love in a hopeless place?” Well we found love in the most hopeless of places… the internet! As summer was dying and turning to fall and all of my hope for finding love was rapidly evaporating, it felt like running in to a brick wall when I finally met Evan. I knew better than to trust it at first. Growing up in this strange age where you cannot trust anyone but at the same time share your whole life online for strangers makes the dating experience both on and offline weird. But after talking to him, picking his brain, laughing at his memes, telling him about my flaws and neuroses and goals, it was finally time to go on a date. I had never been the type to be nervous for dates, I’ve had enough good and bad ones that it takes a lot to phase me. But this time I was excited. The weekend before our date I told everyone (in both sober and not-so-sober times) that I was going on a date and that I hoped I'd be this guy’s girlfriend someday. My friends were shook, this is not a "Victoria" thing to do. I told my best friend that if my gut feeling was wrong, I would just quietly give up, finish nursing school, and move on with my life, knowing that love just wouldn’t happen for me. I was tired of being the girl that guys lusted after but never loved. I was tired of the games and the pressure to laugh at unfunny jokes. I wanted to like and value someone as much as I did myself.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ It’s so different with Evan. We've both found something we didn’t know could be possible. We found one another when we were both so close to giving up on love. I hate this saying, but it happened for me so I feel like it’s important to reference: when you stop looking or worrying about love, it will knock on your door and bite you in the ass. I think that’s how it goes? Anyway, IT’S TRUE. Don’t give up. Your time in the sun will come, and you’ll know it’s here when you feel it just like pre-first-date-tequila-drunk Victoria knew it. Everyone gets a shot of happiness and love. ⁠
A post shared by Ori (@orieveryday) on Feb 10, 2020 at 3:45pm PST

**And hearing how bold Sean of @heyseantaylor (yes! That is Sean from The Circle!) was for inviting her not-yet boyfriend to an intimate performance definitely had us welling up.**

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As we approach Valentine's Day, we are spotlighting stories featuring a #fatgirlinlove. Today's story comes from birthday babe @heyseantaylor, who has been a star in our minds long before she got famous on @netflixthecircle. She's also hosting a lil giveaway on her page! ?⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Here's Sean's story:⁠⠀ //⁠⠀ I met my now boyfriend, Eric, at a crazy themed costume party. I immediately walked up and flirted with him but then I lost sight of him during the party. By the time he found me, another guy had asked to walk me home. ?Listen— I was newly single. It ended up being a complete flop and I thought about Eric for months, thinking I would never find him and completely blew it. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ But the universe had a plan, because I had some exploring to do, and when the timing was right we ended up matching on tinder! One of the first times we hung out, I had one of those movie moments where everything went quiet and I just knew I could never stay mad at this guy. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ For my senior year of college, I wrote a big one-woman show about my experiences with body shaming and I got completely nude on stage. It was a big risk inviting him. We had dated for months but weren’t officially boyfriend/girlfriend yet. But it ended up being the best thing for our relationship because it put talking about our bodies in a healthy way on the table. We don’t remember when we made things official, so we decided to choose a date for our anniversary and Eric said we should choose the day he saw my show, because that’s when he knew he loved me. ?
A post shared by Ori (@orieveryday) on Feb 11, 2020 at 9:39am PST

How much fun are these stories? Do they affirm you and give you hope?

If you want to read more, Stay tuned! Ori will be posting these stories all through Valentine’s Day.

Do you have your own love story to share?

Share your #FatGirlinLove story with Ori and US via this form!

We cannot wait to hear all the love stories!

Once you upload your story, the @orieveryday team will post your love story in their series.

About the Author:

Ashby Vose is the Head of Brand at Ori, a new contemporary plus-size brand. She is a #fatgirlinlove herself and is committed to empowering plus size women and telling their stories.