Shaughna Phillips discusses the emotional battles that led to her drastic weight achieve as she reveals she tipped the scales to fifteen stone at her heaviest

Shaughna Phillips has revealed the emotional battles that led to her drastic weight gain as she candidly confesses she tipped the scales to 15 stone at her heaviest. 

The Love Island star, 30, delved into the difficulties she has faced since welcoming her daughter Lucia in April last year.

The blonde beauty, who has been showing off her drastic weight loss on social media, recently opened up about how she had overhauled her lifestyle after being told she was ‘seriously overweight’ by her doctor. 

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Shaughna explained that she has struggled with comfort eating and used it to deal with stressful episodes in her life.

She said: ‘I’m a reactive eater and I look to food as a comfort

‘If there’s anything stressful in my life that’s how I dealt with it, anything sweet and biscuits.’

The star even confessed that at times she had gotten through a whole packet of biscuits and would often snack on chocolatey treats instead of eating healthily. 

She said: ‘It’s so easy to just get through a whole packet for custard creams’.

Before changing her lifestyle, the influencer would regularly munch on sweet treats for lunch and indulge in sugary drinks but has now switched to a cleaner diet.

And Shaughna’s weight gain comes after a very difficult year for the reality star which saw her become a single mother while juggling a difficult relationship and her career.

Following the birth of her daughter Lucia in April 2023, Shaughna’s boyfriend of four years, Billy Webb, 29, was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply 4.5kg of cocaine worth at least £360,000.

The blonde bombshell has been very open with her fans throughout the ordeal and previously revealed on her podcast Oh, Baby with Shaughna and Holly that she had struggled to come to terms with the situation. 

She said: ‘It’s the most gut-wrenching position to be in.

‘And, I mean, before I even answer this question, I want to just put it out there that you can judge me all you want, but please don’t let me know, because I feel like unless you’ve been in this position you can’t really have an opinion on it.

‘Because before I was in this position, before I had a baby, if you had asked me would I ever, ever take my child into a prison, the answer would be absolutely not. Anyone that does that is crazy.

‘And then, lo and behold, I’m now in this position. And I think the thing is, we’re always going to be co-parents.

‘And I know that me and my dad had the best relationship ever, and to me, my dad is the best person in the world.

‘And I don’t want Lucia to think differently of her father. I would never, ever stop him from seeing her, ever.’

However Shaughna revealed in November that the father of her little girl had been released after serving only 12 months of his sentence and the family reunited to enjoy a Christmas grotto together. 

Sharing an adorable video to her Instagram, the reality star revealed that she and her partner had taken Lucia to see Santa and added she never thought this day would come. 

She captioned the clip: ‘If you had told me this time last year, that me and Billy would be taking Lucia to see Santa next Christmas, I probably wouldn’t have let myself believe you

‘The best couple of days, this Christmas is going to be so special’.

The star also revealed to MailOnline that she had struggled raising her daughter as a single mother. 

She said: ‘Having a newborn baby, hormones are all over the place and I was just struggling’

‘Anyone who’s had kids they’ll probably say that when they’re a newborn it’s easiest because they just lie there and need to be fed but as they get older and they can talk back and say no… It’s exhausting.’

And the stress of parenthood was one factor that led to Shaughna’s weight gain as she admitted she would just grab a snack on the go despite striving to give her little girl the healthiest meals she could. 

‘I wasn’t eating well and I realised if I wouldn’t let Lucia eat that then why am I?’ she confessed. 

Shaughna revealed earlier this year that she was left ‘shaken to her core’ after visiting her GP for a health check.

The TV star explained that a year after giving birth to her daughter Lucia she had been told she is now obese.

In a candid post shared to Instagram, Shaughna revealed during an entire body MOT check, she was told she had ‘quite a lot of visceral fat around her main organs’.

This can lead to an array of potentially serious health problems in the future, such as heart attacks, diabetes and some cancers, according to Health Direct. 

Speaking to her 1.4million followers, she said: ‘It’s been a year since I had a baby, so I wanted to see where I stood post-birth.

‘They told me that I was obese, which isn’t a shock, but it’s never nice to hear. Following some of the check-ups, they said I had quite a lot of visceral fat around my organs.

‘Now, I’m no Gillian McKeith, I’m not going to tell you what that means because I don’t really know.

‘It’s basically fat around your main organs, which is serious because it can cause heart attacks.’

‘I’m a mum now and it shook me to my core, because I know I’m not the picture of health, but I didn’t realise things were that bad and it’s kind of scary to hear it from a medical professional.’

Vowing to improve her health as she is determined to be around for her daughter as she grows up, Shaughna said: ‘I’m going to do this. I need to do something. I need to lose so much weight. I only had one parent because my dad died.

‘Without getting way too deep, I just never want that to happen to Lucia and I want to do everything in my power to be here for as long as possible.’

Opening up on her the body dysmorphia she has struggled with her whole life, Shaughna added: ‘I’m not going to be too hard on myself as I’m only human. I’m raising a human on my own, that’s hard. I’m self -employed, that’s hard. 

‘I’ve struggled with my body image for probably most of my life, which is quite scary – and I don’t want that for Lucia.

‘I need to be a positive example for her. I don’t want her to see me struggling to put clothes on or not being happy with how I look. I need to be the happiest, healthiest version of myself.

‘Do I know how I’m going to get there? No. But I feel like I have the knowledge now to go forward. I’m a work in progress, but loving myself regardless.’

And the Love Island star has dropped five dress sizes after starting on a fitness and diet plan more than a year go and is now a healthier nine stone 10lbs. 

But she said it’s about finding a balance and hasn’t cut out sweet treats entirely, occasionally indulging in a chocolate bar and a glass of Prosecco.

The blonde beauty told MailOnline that she’s now less focused on losing weight and being ‘skinny’ .

She explained that when she was younger she was focused on how she looked and if people ‘fancied her’ but now she says that’s the furthest thing from her mind.

She said: ‘That’s been the big difference. I wasn’t trying to look skinny, I was trying to be healthy because I needed to address the visceral fat.

‘There’s no point being skinny if you’re fat on the inside.

And Shaughna wants to share how her combination of diet and exercise worked for her and is launching her Shred-It Plan which includes short workouts and a meal plan to help people lose weight.

Her website launched on Boxing Day and plans start at £49.99.