‘Absolutely disgusted’: Big response after Aussie bride was trolled

When Chloe Pink’s wedding photos were posted online she expected well wishes, and the response has exposed an uncomfortable Aussie truth.

COMMENT

Imagine reading something so bad about yourself that shocks you because not even you, your own biggest critic, have been able to come up with something so cruel.

Welcome to being a woman on the internet.

When you’re a female journalist who isn’t thin, like me, you get used to the fact that complete strangers, often men, make horrible comments about your body online.

I could write about anything: tariffs, cost of living, even the return of micro-miniskirts, and I won’t read the comment section because it almost always becomes about my appearance, rather than what I’ve written about.

It is heartbreaking but it has become my normal.

Does it have real-world side effects?

Yes, of course. I don’t like being in photos anymore, I look at myself in the mirror far less.

I have to somehow sort through the cruellest thing I’ve ever read about myself and separate it from self-esteem.

It isn’t easy work; it is really hard to like yourself when someone who you’ve never met is calling you a “fat pig” online. So when I saw Chloe Pink’s TikTok, it made my stomach drop.

Chloe Pink married her childhood sweetheart. Picture: Instagram/ chloepink__

The couple have been together for over seven years. Picture: Instagram/ chloepink__

One of the biggest news stories this week was about Mrs Pink, 25, marrying her childhood sweetheart, Melbourne AFL player Toby Pink.

It’s a sweet story. In their vows, Mr Pink said he was so happy he got to marry his childhood crush.

But rather than being about the nuptials, the story disappointingly evolved to become about the trolling Mrs Pink endured after photos of their wedding were posted online.

She looked beautiful. I’d actually already been aware of the wedding because a friend of mine had sent me a photo of her dress and said it was the kind she wanted to wear when she got married.

The comments though, were disgusting.

Mrs Pink shared some of the worst ones in a clip on her TikTok account alongside Billie Eilish’s song “What Was I Made For”.

Someone called her a “fridge”, another wrote, “AFL player by day, pig hunter by night”, and one comment claimed she looked more like an AFL player than a bride.

Mrs Pink was so excited to get married. Picture: Instagram/ chloepink__

Mr Pink said he was happy he got to marry his childhood crush. Picture: Instagram/ chloepink__

Mrs Pink is between a size 14-16, which is the average size of an Australian woman. She told news.com.au that the comments were “horrible” and left her deeply upset and crying for over week.

The 25-year-old explained that she felt beautiful on her wedding day, and seeing those comments made her question everything: “Do I look fat?”

She was also left fearing that the commentary had “overshadowed” her wedding day and she was heartbroken.

After Mrs Pink shared her story with news.com.au it was heartwarming to see how quickly people came to her defence.

“I hate people. This is beyond heartbreaking. I’m so sorry, you are beautiful and look so happy,” one wrote.

“I am absolutely disgusted that these people think they have the right to say such dehumanising things to someone,” another raged.

“No one has the right to comment like that. Obviously, her husband is in love with her and is happy, and that is what matters,” someone else said.

Aussies came out to defend Mrs Pink. Picture: Instagram/ chloepink__

There was an onslaught of Aussies fuming on Mrs Pink’s behalf, even in my own direct messages.

People were furious and also baffled that someone would see any photo of a woman on her wedding day and even think something so cruel, let alone write it.

“But she’s so hot?” one of my mates texted me.

“So stunning. People suck,” another said.

“She’s radiant and beautiful,” someone else wrote.

The turnaround was nice to see, and I even texted Mrs Pink some of the responses I got so she could see that the cruel taunts were firmly in the minority.

I just worry that it wasn’t enough.

As humans we tend to easily remember the worst thing we’ve ever read or heard about ourselves and struggle to remember the best.

I’m glad people came to the party, defended the bride, and called out the trolling and bullying, but I’m still heartbroken and outraged that it happened in the first place.

I’m also mad because this isn’t a weird one-off, this is how women are treated on the internet, and it needs to stop.

Originally published as ‘Absolutely disgusted’: Big response after Aussie bride was trolled