‘My female colleagues conspired against me’: Woman says her career suffered due to her beauty

APPARENTLY, there are some surprising downsides to being really, really, ridiculously good-looking in the modern workplace.

A WOMAN who described her looks as “very intimidating” has claimed her beauty opened doors — but also held her career back.

The woman, who spoke anonymously withThe Cut, revealed the negative experiences she had throughout her life as a result of her appearance.

She said female colleagues had been so jealous of her looks her career had been sabotaged on several occasions.

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“At my first job after college, my female colleagues conspired against me,” she said.

“They planted bottles of half-drunk booze on my desk so that it looked like I was drinking on the job.”

The woman, now in her late-50s, said the harassment continued at another job.

“Two women were obsessed with me. They told my boss lies to get me fired,” she said.

“I talked to some of my superiors about it and they put it to me straight: ‘Look, it’s pure unmitigated jealousy. They really do hate you because of the way you look,’” she said.

The woman, who has two adult sons, said she was “tall and willowy” with a “great figure” and that she never weighed more than 54kg throughout her 20s.

She said she had started modelling in high school and that when she wore make-up, heels and nice clothes she looked “very intimidating”.

But she admitted her striking looks had also given her an unfair advantage in the workplace.

“My looks definitely opened doors for me. I worked in PR and as a news producer, writer, reporter and talk show host,” she said.

“I did acting in daytime soaps, TV commercials and theatre. I never interviewed for a job I didn’t get.

“I had a good degree from a good college, sure, but I think all things being equal I’d get the job above other candidates because of the way I looked.”

The mother said she resented being beautiful in her youth.

“I look back over my life and think, What did my looks do for me? They got me a few jobs, and a lot of boyfriends … but what else?” she said.

She told The Cut her beauty had even threatened an ex-partner financially.

“I was once engaged to a man who ended it after his sister-in-law spread gossip about me to his family,” she said.

“They threatened to cut his inheritance if he stayed with me, so he left.

“Throughout my life, competitive, attractive, wealthy, entitled women really hated me,” she said.

The woman said she also had trouble making and keeping friends, because women were jealous, and men tried to sleep with her.

“I’d think: Women dump on me. Men just want to have sex with me. Who am I?” she said.

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