Jennifer Tress turns heartbreak into success after being told 'you're not pretty enough' by husband

JENNIFER Tress was told by her husband the reason he was cheating was because she wasn't 'pretty enough'. Now she's turned her heartbreak into a life-changing deal.

Jennifer Tress now. Picture: facebook.com/yourenotprettyenough

WHEN Jennifer Tress was told by her husband that the reason he was cheating was because she wasn't pretty enough, she turned her heartbreak into a blog that landed her a life-changing book deal.

"I had pretty healthy esteem before getting married but that definitely triggered a low period for me" Tress told MailOnline after discovering her husband was having an affair with a "blonde, big-breasted Californian" intern.

"It was the first time I really wondered: 'Wait, am I pretty enough?'

"I don't want to demonise my ex-husband. It takes two people to break up a marriage, and the break up of that particular marriage is more complicated and nuanced than saying hurtful words. But yes, those words did hurt. Especially because they came from someone who was supposed to have my back" she said.

Curious about whether other people had gone through what she was going through, Tress set up a blog called yourenotprettyenough.com.

"When I set up a website I used that phrase thinking it would be sort of a joke between me and the people who knew that story. But then something interesting happened. I noticed I got a startling amount of web traffic from people who were Googling phrases like 'how to be pretty when you're not' or 'am I pretty enough for anyone to love me?' It made me sad to see those searches month after month so I decided to take action" she said.

Working with universities in the States, Tress distributed surveys with questions like 'when was the last time you felt not pretty enough?' and 'what was driving that feeling?' to gage how self-esteem is affected by surroundings. She also conducted video interviews and opened discussion on her blog, all of which culminated in a book deal.

Titled You're Not Pretty Enough, the book is part memoir part observation.

"The stories are funny and poignant and real. Ultimately the book serves as an example of how to be comfortable in your own skin, even if you screw up along the way or if bad things happen to you" Tress said.

And the success doesn't end there - Tress has since remarried, and "couldn't be happier...we're in it for the long haul now."

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