Beauty queen's body confidence boost from TV show

A woman who appeared in the TV series Say Yes to the Dress said being thrown out of her comfort zone has helped improve her body confidence.

Beauty pageant queen Emma Jay Webber, from South Gloucestershire, has won multiple pageantry titles.

But while she has always been a champion for body positivity, there were times that she felt less confident.

She said this led to her applying to the TV show on TLC, where presenter Tan France gets participants to try on a range of wedding dresses.

"Even though I advocate for body positivity, and I do so much work around it, I still have my bad days," she said.

She is the first openly lesbian pageantry winner and uses her work to fly the flag for body positivity.

But when she got engaged, she said her friends and family asked her about losing weight, which knocked her confidence.

"You can feel on top of the world and feel so amazing about your body and all it takes is the smallest thing to knock your confidence or then slowly eat away at you. And then you're back to square one."

Ms Webber did not end up getting married, but said the show has helped her to grow in many ways.

"I've had a lot of body shaming and fat shaming online. That didn't really get to me. It was when friends - or so called friends - would make little comments."

Whilst taking part in the TV show, she said she realised that she had been hiding behind A-Line dresses.

France encouraged her to wear the tighter-fitting body con dress and she has started wearing them for pageants.

"I felt so scared and vulnerable," she said.

"Even though I had all the positivity in the world, there were still styles that I would stay away from. It's completely changed now since the show."

Ms Webber's first episode of the TV show was filmed in November 2022 and she split up with her ex in February 2023.

The show aired for the first time this year on TLC, hosted by France, who is also known for presenting Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

Ms Webber said the decision to go on Say Yes to the Dress was more about the way she "judged herself", unlike the "role" that she plays in her pageantry work.

"I felt completely stripped bare," she said.

"There was almost nothing to hide behind. No on-stage persona, or big pageant dress or big event with all the adrenaline running around with you."

She said her experience on the show has been life changing.

"I've learnt that even though you can be the most positive person in the world, you can still have off days, and that's okay.

"I still have my bad days. I still have little areas of my body where I'm not so confident.

"Every day is an absolute blessing and the best thing you can do is step outside your comfort zone every now and then.

"As much as your brain will tell you not to, try it. Once you get past that, the other side is beautiful."

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