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| Dionne Washington photo |
Rightly or wrongly, most women are desperate for a smaller bum. Gym workouts, magic knickers and all sorts of diet tricks...we’ll try anything for a perfectly pert behind.
But Dionne Washington can’t imagine anything worse. Her massive bottom is 5ft 3ins across and weighs a whopping 22st – the same as three Victoria Beckhams or a baby panda. And it’s her greatest asset.
“I am literally sitting on a fortune,” says Dionne, 35. “My bum must be the widest in the world and it earns me over £90,000 a year. I used to hate it, but now it’s my fave feature.”
She knows how much her bottom weighs because four men lifted her up and flopped it down on a set of industrial scales while holding up the rest of her. At its widest point, it’s 14ft 9ins around, and she’s on a mission to make it even bigger.
Dionne’s total weight is 35st and at 5ft 4ins tall her Body Mass Index is 85. That’s four times more than an average woman and it puts her at risk of high cholesterol, diabetes and heart problems.
“I’m not concerned,” she insists. “I love my body and wouldn’t change a thing.”
Dionne says nearly everything she eats goes to her bottom and to maintain its huge size she consumes a shocking 9,000 calories a day – more than three times the recommended intake for women.
“The more I eat the bigger this beauty gets,” says Dionne.
She hasn’t always been so proud of her bum though. Growing up in Texas, USA, she says it was the bane of her life. A skinny child, her weight ballooned when she hit puberty.
“Suddenly I went from size 12 jeans to a size 18, then 20 then 22, while on top I remained a size 14. Kids at school can be so cruel, calling me Big Bum Bertha, Butt Head and Bottom Feeder. I’d sit at the back of class and wait until everyone else left the room because my bum often got stuck in the chair.
“I could barely run, so PE was a nightmare. I’d get mum to write notes saying I had cramps or sore knees. I tried wearing Spanx to contain my bottom but they didn’t work. I went to the prom by myself and left school feeling depressed, lacking confidence and hating my body,” she recalls.
Dionne tried endless diets, including drinking just diet shakes, the cabbage soup diet and WeightWatchers. But nothing worked.
“My mum Carol took me to see the doctor and he said I needed to diet and exercise more. Mum told me some of my cousins had big bottoms and perhaps it was genetic. All I did was hide under big dresses and comfort-eat.”
Studying business administration at a local college, Dionne was miserable. “I kept my head down and tried to make myself invisible but that was hard. I was still a virgin and felt I’d never find someone who liked me for being me,” she says.
But at 19 one of the guys from class asked her out.
“It was the first time anyone had shown real interest. The date was lovely and we ended up having sex. Then I discovered later he’d done it for a bet with the other guys in my class. I was devastated and lost even more confidence.”
Dionne started work at a law firm. “It was hard as my behind was getting wider as was my appetite. I couldn’t fit into the office chairs. I hated it.
“Then a doctor told me I could diet but the weight probably wouldn’t shift. I could have liposuction but it would take multiple surgeries then I’d need more to fix the hanging skin. It would cost more than £25,000.”
Earning just £14,000 a year, Dionne was devastated. “I tried to get new jobs but the prettier, smaller girls always beat me even though I was more qualified. I knew it was down to my size,” she says.
Then her second boyfriend, who she met in 2008, made her realise she should love her bottom. After the second date he admitted he was attracted to very large women.
“He was throwing all these phrases at me I didn’t understand. He explained he was a ‘fat admirer’ and loved large women and said that in his books I was a BBW – a Big, Beautiful Woman,” she says.
“That night he showed me forums on the internet dedicated to big girls. Some weighed up to 50st. There were super-sized girls in lingerie proudly flashing their flab. Suddenly my world changed. I’d discovered a place where women like me were not only accepted, but adored.”
She made friends with other big girls who were sure her wide bottom would be a hit. So in February 2008, she decided to take the plunge and post some pictures online.
“I weighed 30st and was sick of my boring life. I’d just come out of another failed relationship so I decided to take control,” she says.
“I had a girlfriend take some pictures of me and posted them on a forum. Within 48 hours I was inundated with emails from fans around the world wanting to know if they could buy my pictures.”
Dionne admits she was scared and thrilled at the same time.
“But I decided to go for it. I started selling pictures and videos of me and my bum online. I offered special membership rates of up to £20 a month and would send people two picture sets of up to 30 images. For extra they’d get a video and I charged even more for instant message chats.”
Dionne has built up her empire and now has more than 15,000 fans. Her bottom has paid for an apartment, a big car (with extra large seats), holidays, designer clothes and gifts for her friends.
However, having the world’s widest bum doesn’t come without its problems.
She can’t sit on normal chairs or stools – she takes up a two-seater sofa – so she does a lot of her computer work in bed. She has a supersized stool, but even with that her bottom sticks out 8ins at the back and 9ins each side.
Dionne also requires extra-wide changing rooms in shops.
“Sometimes I can’t try on clothes as I literally can’t fit,” she says. “I need toilets with seats for big people and I get stuck in bath tubs. I get a lot of clothes made to order in size 36-40, especially my knickers,” she says.
“I hate shopping in supermarket aisles that have cans and displays sticking out as I end up knocking them over. At restaurants I have to sit in a booth for three people and push the table to the other side. I don’t use buses – I have to turn sideways just to get through the door.”
She has a serious fear of getting stuck in the toilet on a train or plane.
“One time I got stuck and the air hostess had to pull me out. I laugh now but it makes you realise the seats need to be bigger for us large girls.”
Dionne’s parents are both dead but she has an aunt who thinks she is nuts. On the other hand, her friends are very supportive. “They tell me I’m amazing and a real inspiration,” she says.
Dionne admits she suffers from back pain but claims it’s minimal because the heavier she gets, her body will change to handle the extra pounds.
“I am a Jimmy Choo fan but I can’t wear heels. My doctor said my butt wouldn’t allow me to balance properly and sometimes after a long day I lose a little sensation in my feet,” she says.
She gets endless marriage proposals from fans but turns them all down.
“I have joined a few dating sites and hope to find a guy who likes me for my brains who I can marry and have kids with.
“I’ve had some eggs frozen in case I meet Mr Perfect later in life so I can still have a baby.”
For now, the woman with the world’s widest butt, has no plans to stop modelling or change her lifestyle. “I earn tens of thousands, I have thousands of fans and those kids at college who teased me are all in dead-end jobs.
She says: “I never ask people if my butt looks big in this. I ask them if it’s big enough... the bigger the better.”
