A woman who claims her ex called her fat “every day” has lost half of her body weight – and found love with a fellow dieter, meeting on a WhatsApp group for Mounjaro users.
Toni Dowsett’s weight had ballooned to 30 stone and she also wore a size 32, with a lengthy daily McDonald’s order causing her to steadily gain weight throughout adulthood.
Her size led to cruel jibes from a male ex, but the 30-year-old has had the last laugh after dropping 15 stone thanks to the weight loss drug – and meeting her new partner by bonding over their shared journeys.
READ MORE: ‘I had to beg for help as my daughter was dying because NHS rules said she wasn’t eligible’
“My ex used to call me fat every day,” Toni, a carer from Salisbury, Wiltshire, told Need To Know.
“It made me feel terrible and gave me low confidence that I’m still working on.
“[But it also] made me want to change.
“At my heaviest, I had to check the chairs out first before sitting because I was scared I’d break them.
“I was terrified of having a heart attack and would get constant chest infections.
“My relationship with food was terrible, and my confidence was terrible.
“I relied on takeaways because I was too tired to cook after work.”
Toni works three 12-hour shifts a week and says it’s “physically and mentally draining”.
She had struggled with her weight since childhood, eating daily takeaways including a lengthy order from McDonald’s of 20 nuggets, a burger, a share box of cheese bites and a large fizzy drink at her lowest point.
But when Toni decided to try weight loss medication in March 2025, she faced an immediate setback when she was declined by her GP – because she was too heavy.
She said: “The thought of losing weight felt impossible.
“I researched Mounjaro and thought, ‘what have I got to lose?’.
“But when I applied, doctors wouldn’t give it to me [on the NHS].
“I was so upset they turned me down because I was too big.
“They said my BMI was too high – that’s the only explanation they gave me.
“I was shocked because I thought they [the jabs] were for people like me and it felt like there was no hope.”
But determined Toni decided to privately fund Mounjaro instead in March last year, purchasing it through a provider for £85 per month whilst meticulously tracking her food and calorie intake on an app.
She lost a stone in her first week alone, spurring her to continue.
Toni has swapped her daily McDonald’s for salads with chicken skewers, which she has for lunch every day.
She also cut out all takeaways, bread, potatoes, fried food, chocolate, and Coke, as well as her usual three sugars in a coffee – and meticulously tracks her calorie intake.
Toni added: “The day my jabs arrived in the post, that was it – something changed in me.
“I do believe you have to be ready.
“The food noise was bad, but after a week I was fine.
“Seeing the scales go down and wearing normal-sized clothes kept me going when I wanted to give up.”
Toni has lost more than 15st and now weighs 14st 7lb, wearing size 12 clothes, and has incorporated exercise by signing up to a local gym.
Five months after she started using Mounjaro, last August she met Natasha, 32, in a WhatsApp group for fellow users of the drug.
Natasha had not long started using the drug, and the two “bonded” over their shared weight loss journey.
Toni added: “My confidence had gotten better, but I wasn’t looking; we just happened to start talking about Mounjaro.
“We were talking for a while before we met.
“Our first ever conversation was about us both being on Mounjaro.
“I saw that her profile photo was taken in Weymouth, where I’d been on holiday.
“Tash was asking for tips and we connected through Mounjaro.
“She turned it into flirty banter, and it [the feeling] was mutual.
“I wasn’t looking for anything but couldn’t stop smiling at my messages.
“Then we started sending voice notes before we agreed to meet up.
“I was so nervous meeting Tash for the first time but we clicked straight away.
“We went on a date at the local countryside pub and had dinner.
“Then we spent the whole week together; she stayed at mine.
“It feels like fate that we met through Mounjaro.
Toni said she only became attracted to women after losing weight and her ex-partner was a man.
“I never felt an attraction to women when I was bigger.
“With my losing weight, I started feeling an attraction to women and vice versa.
“It might be a confidence thing.
“I read that the jabs can influence libido, alter brain chemistry and body confidence.
“I couldn’t be with another man in my life.
“I don’t find men attractive anymore at all.”
Natasha, who had gained weight during and after her previous relationship, added: “Both being on Mounjaro bonded us.
“We both have the same interests in hobbies and we just click.
“When I met Toni, it just felt like it was meant to happen.
“It’s like we’re meant to be together.”
Natasha has lost eight stone in total since starting Mounjaro in August 2025, weighing 18 stone and wearing a size XXL.
She now wears a size 15 juniors and weighs nine stone.
Meanwhile, Toni plans to keep using Mounjaro indefinitely.
She said: “I’m a different person – I’m half the size I once was.
“I feel amazing; I can see my neck, jawline and collarbones.
“Sometimes I don’t recognise myself in pictures, and my confidence is up and down – sometimes I look in the mirror and see the same person I once was.
“But I’ve had to replace my entire wardrobe from losing so much weight.
“I was over the moon the first time I tried on a size 12.
“Life is so different now.
“I have so much room now everywhere we go, but sometimes I still get worried that I can’t fit to get out of the car and that I need more space.
“I want to feel comfortable in my own body, get married and start a family.
“And Natasha calls me beautiful every day.”
TONI’S DIET BEFORE
Breakfast: Large Red Bull
Lunch: Two sandwiches, two sausage rolls, two packs of crisps, yoghurt and cheese
Dinner: Kebabs, McDonald’s or Subway
Snacks: Large packs of crisps, large bars of chocolate, milkshakes and a one-litre bottle of Coke every day
TONI’S DIET AFTER
Breakfast: Protein shake
Lunch: Soup, crackers with light cheese, light cheese, Fridge Raiders and protein yoghurt
Dinner: Protein chicken skewers with salad or vegetables
Snacks: Light cheese strings, Popchips, Babybels, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and Fridge Raiders
READ MORE: Basketball player 17 mistook cardiac arrest warning for ‘energy drink buzz’
