Wife declines to sleep with husband for 11 years for being ‘too fat’

UK:   A man who was once so fat that he couldn't sleep in the same bed as his wife has now lost enough weight to snuggle up to her at night.

Justin Gomersall, 43, weighed in at a hefty 20-stone this time last year and was forced to sleep in a separate bed to his wife.

One year on, however, and he has managed to shed a huge six stone – leaving behind a life of takeaways and laziness.

Doctors warned Justin that his lifestyle could land him in serious trouble medically and he was already unable to play with his children or go on walks with the family without being out of breath.

But the chubby sales manager finally decided to fight the flab after becoming fed up of sleeping apart from his 35-year-old wife Frankie.

They had spent a staggering 11 years in different beds because he was too fat to share their one. His lardy frame meant, every night, he snored so loudly that full-time mum Frankie couldn't bear sleeping next to him and kicked him out the marital bed.

Yesterday, he said: "I slept apart for 11 years because of my snoring, and we would rarely do any family activities together."

So the father joined LighterLife, a fat-busting group, to battle his bulge in January 2014.

He added: "Soon, I had surpassed my target weight and had shrivelled down from a near 20 stone middle aged man, heart attack material, to a 13-and-a-half stone new husband for my dear wife of 12 years and new father to my two children.

"Life had become a lot rosier.

"My awful snoring has stopped and, after 11 years, my wife and I now share a bed again. My whole family and I are over the moon, our family life is better now than it ever was."

But Justin admitted he had problems with his size since his youth when he hated exercise.

He continued: "I had a problem with my weight since I was a teenager but it accelerated after my children were born.

"I already had an unhealthy appetite for food, but that combined with working from home and finishing off the children's meals, meant my weight gradually crept up to 19-and-a-half stone.

"My parents had been concerned about my health for years and after they passed away, both my brother and my sister took on that worry.

"Towards the end of 2013, I went shopping to buy a pair of jeans in a high street shop. I tried on the largest size available and they didn't fit. When I asked the shop assistant if they sold any bigger sizes and she said no.

"And the problem was I was a bit blind to it all, and even my wife never accepted how big I had got. I never realised at the time how much my weight was affecting my family life, I found all forms of exercise a struggle and therefore I couldn't play with my children as much as I would have liked.

But Justin, of Abington Park, Northampton, now loves exercise. He runs 5km (3.1 miles) every day and swims 30 lengths a few times a week. He is preparing to cycle the mammoth 970km (603 miles) from Land's End, Cornwall, to John O' Groats, Highland, for four charities.

He said: "I am now able to run around and play with my children and tire them out before they tire me out.

"I have decided to embark on my next challenge.

"On June 3, myself and a team of 11 middle-aged men called Team Numbnuts are donning Lycra and cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for four fabulous charities: Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Charity, Mind, Cynthia Spencer (hospice) and Sarcoma UK. We aim to raise in excess of £100,000.

Justin's counsellor at LifeLighter Tina Rahman said: "Justin was very committed to his programme and started to make lifestyle changes during the weight loss stage.

"Now he is managing his new weight through exercise and different food choices . Justin has brought me immense job satisfaction as I often see him jogging around town.

"The most inspirational thing is that others will now benefit from his new lifestyle as he is about to take part in an epic bike ride from one end of the country to the other."