Auckland bride-to-be's weight-loss surgery: 'Why I gave up my Kardashian curves'

Jess Dromgool was confident in her curves. Photos / Supplied

Jess Dromgool was big and beautiful. She felt sexy and confident in her curves. So why did she undergo weight-loss surgery? The 27-year-old bride-to-be tells Rebecca Blithe what led to her decision.

It was the 30th pair of jeans that broke her. New Zealand's first lockdown had ended and Jess Dromgool, 27, was looking forward to a night out with friends. But as she struggled and failed to get any of her vast collection of denim past her knees, she realised something had to change.

"I was on FaceTime crying to my mum. I said, 'I can't even go out and see my friends because of my body'. That was probably my breaking point," says the Hibiscus Coast bride-to-be.

But until that point she'd held onto the mantra "big is beautiful", bolstered by conversations around body positivity and the notion of embracing one's physique, no matter the size.

"I had created a relationship with my body where I justified being overweight," she says. "I felt confident in my curves, beautiful and confident in the body I had."

Jess Dromgool says since she underwent weight loss surgery she's been living the life of her dreams. Photos / Supplied

But that body, at its peak, was 110 kilograms on a 1.6m frame. With a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 44, it was starting to cause problems and restrict Dromgool's quality of life.

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"I was doing things without realising – like avoiding weighing myself or going for a walk with friends. I wouldn't wear strappy shoes, because I couldn't find ones that would fit my ankles. When I was invited out jet-skiing with a friend, I would've stayed on the beach because I wouldn't have been able to lift myself onto the jet ski. And I would have told myself, 'It's okay because I'm still out enjoying the day'."

In addition to Dromgool's challenges to wearing certain things and being active, she developed cystic acne and eczema, shin splints and lipodema, a condition that causes swelling of the limbs.

"It was painful. If I did any movement, I'd get this throbbing ache throughout my legs. And I couldn't walk around the block without my shins being in aching pain and having to come home and ice them. Bless my little heart, I tried. I really tried to do those things that should come with ease to people," says Dromgool, who had also taken up F45 but after two years found she'd only lost 3kg.

As Dromgool came to realise, "being the big girl meant I was in constant pain. It meant I could barely walk up my stairs without puffing and panting. It meant being in a state of distress every time I got dressed and seeking connection and attention from partners who validated my body, from men telling me my body was okay the way it was.

"But the reality was I was in denial. I was morbidly obese. I was not healthy and my health was starting to deteriorate because of my weight. I believe everyone should be able to exist with confidence and happiness and I could have portrayed that I was big and happy and healthy but, for me, that wasn't the reality."

Jess Dromgool was confident in her curves. Photos / Supplied

So in November 2020 Dromgool made the decision to undergo weight loss surgery.

She attended an information evening at a clinic on Auckland's North Shore where a psychologist, dietician and surgeon spoke along with people who had been through weight loss or bariatric surgery.

"It was eye-opening. And I realised at that point - because a lot of people say it's the cheats' method - it's a tool for you to be able to take control of your life and your weight. To implement change to be able to live a healthier lifestyle."

So Dromgool underwent gastric sleeve surgery, which removed about 80 per cent of her stomach.

But going under the knife didn't come without complications: she had "quite significant gas pain" when she woke up from surgery and wasn't able to take on enough fluids. Her surgeon wanted to review her surgery so she spent her 26th birthday in hospital.

A change to medication "turned everything around" and Dromgool says "it's been smooth sailing ever since", adding she no longer takes any medication associated with her surgery.

Fourteen months later Dromgool has lost half her peak body weight.

Following surgery Dromgool has lost half her peak body weight. Photos / Supplied

"I've lost myself," she says of her new 55kg weight. "I definitely had body dysmorphia in reverse, I think. At the start I was terrified of losing my curves. I had placed so much worth in my external figure. Who would I be if I didn't have a Kardashian a**? But I don't look at myself and think that I look extremely different. A lot of things haven't changed. My style hasn't changed and my confidence hasn't changed."

What has changed, dramatically, is Dromgool's health. She no longer suffers from cystic acne or eczema and her lipoedema has been significantly reduced. In general, she is much more well as a person.

"The biggest change is, every couple of weeks I used to get sick with a flu or a chest infection or earache. Now, I haven't been sick since surgery. Taking control of my weight has seen me take control of my whole life," says Dromgool who left a high-pressure job and, just seven weeks after her surgery, met the man she's now getting ready to marry.

"It's changed my life's trajectory," says Dromgool, who has found a following by documenting her journey on Instagram. "If you had told me a year and a half ago that I'd be in a new job, healthy and engaged ... it's really special because Jake's been on this journey with me. He's seen me change but the most incredible thing is he's never looked at me any differently. He just loves me for who I am."

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"My whole life is exactly as I wanted. It sounds fluffy and hippy-dippy but I'm living the life of my dreams," she says, before acknowledging she is still working through the adjustments that have come with her new body.

"If I could've been healthy and the size that I was, I wouldn't have had a problem with that. It's never been about appearance because I actually felt more confident when I had curves.

"I've had to learn to love this new body, where I'm not defined by my curves. I'm defined by me. I feel more vulnerable now, because I'm really being seen for who I am. When you've lived for 20-odd years feeling you've been seen for your weight, it takes quite a lot of internal work to move forward. I always loved myself but I love myself differently now."