DIY VIRAL
Kylie Kelce was mercilessly bullied because of her height when she was a teenager.
Late last year, Kylie Kelce launched her podcast, which was an instant hit with audiences.
Today, the wife of former NFL player Jason Kelce is giving fans some things about her life they never knew.
For example, she suffered vicious body shaming for years. For what? Because she's big.
Kylie Kelce was 5'10″ her freshman year of high school
While 5'10″ probably isn't “tall” in the grand scheme of things (surely it starts above 6', right?), teenage bullying isn't about reality. This involves finding a potential vulnerability and striking.
During a recent episode of her I'm not going to lie podcastthe pregnant mom chatted with Drew Afualo — an influencer and plus-size woman — about the process of overcoming those insecurities.
Kylie's father is 6 feet 9 inches tall. As a result, she didn't feel statuesque at home. She still doesn't – because her husband is Jason Kelce. It's easy to feel “normal sized” or even like a “little girl,” as she puts it, when current and former football players fill your life.
“I was mercilessly bullied by a few people,” she said of her early experiences in high school.
“One of the worst ones was a guy whose insult was always like, 'You're huge, you're a man,'” Kylie Kelce recalled of classmates who ridiculed her size.
For a time, cruelty took its toll, damaging his self-esteem. It wasn't until high school that she readjusted her perspective. How? By understanding the true motivations of his bullies.
“I had to change the story”
“It probably took me until my senior year to be like, 'Oh, you're mad because you're not my size,'” Kylie wisely shared.
Following this realization, she began to view these intentional insults as compliments. Sort of. Maybe more like disguised compliments.
“There was a period where I was like, 'Don't call me big.' I said: 'I'm not tall, I'm tall' or 'My thighs are not fat, I'm strong',” she detailed.
“I had to change the story,” Kylie Kelce said at the time.
She said she tried hard “not to let those words have the weight they expected them to have on me.”
It's important to remember that body shaming of any kind is always wrong. Additionally, it often inaccurately describes people's bodies. (However, it is also wrong when the descriptions are accurate!)
How tall is Kylie Kelce today?
Even today, IMDB lists Kylie Kelce as being 5 feet 11 inches tall. It's above average, but she's not going to be fighting Godzilla anytime soon.
There's an important life lesson: don't pay undue attention to insults from people who think 5'9″ is “tall.” They are clearly working through their own insecurities.
Or, more generally, don't internalize the bullies' insults.
DIY VIRAL
