'Goddess' Melissa McCarthy 'Looks Nothing Like' Herself in Pics after Spouse Helped Her Love Herself

• Melissa McCarthy was taunted for her appearance by ordinary people and by her own Hollywood manager.
• The actress' life changed after meeting her spouse of 20 years and becoming a mother to two daughters.
• At 52, the "Gilmore Girls" star shocks fans with her new photos in stunning outfits.

Melissa McCarthy confessed in a previous interview that she grew up outside Chicago in the rural countryside of Illinois. The star, who had a lot of energy, was pretty much into everything, including dressing up and sports.

She revealed that she'd grown up as an ordinary girl on a farm. The actress was into punk and gothic looks but didn't encompass the personality that went with them because she was pretty talkative.

The way she looked posed a problem for her for the first time when she walked around, people would tease her, and some said nasty things, including adults. During her high school years, she struggled with her weight.

However, looking back at her cheerleader photos and where she was lifting weights, doing sprints, gymnastics, and tennis - despite not being super thin - she was a size six! The actress found society upsetting because it gave the impression that being thinner was better.

McCarthy managed to stay pretty thin until she relocated to Los Angeles. The celebrity revealed how she gained weight by eating bad foods and didn't walk as much in the new city and gradually went up by 25 pounds.

Her weight became so much of a focus that a manager once told her she wouldn't have a Hollywood career if she didn't lose it. The "Tammy" actress admitted that her feelings were hurt, but she knew she had talent and decided to prove it to the manager.

McCarthy, who ate burgers and drank Guinness, knew her size hindered her finding work in Hollywood. The celebrity confessed that she always cried to Margie, her sister - while her cousin, Jenny McCarthy, was built thinner - the actress battled to lose the pounds.

In 2000, she got her biggest opening when she was cast for the "Gilmore Girls," a show where her weight was never an issue. However, she still self-consciously did a 500 calory per day liquid diet that a medical professional monitored.

In 2002, the program lost her 70 pounds within four months, but she later vowed never to repeat it, saying: "I felt starved and crazy half the time." Being a plus-sized woman, McCarthy was often disappointed when she went shopping for clothes.

At one point, she tried commissioning five or six high-level fashion designers to make dresses for her, but they all said "no." What shocked the star was how plus-size clothes were generally tarps with holes, and when she walked the red carpet, all the items she could wear had a "mother-of-the-bride" feel.

The actress never found clothes she loved and mostly had to settle, and she felt terrible about herself and knew it wasn't just her. McCarthy's self-love battle was constant because of her weight until she met someone special who changed that outlook.

Meeting a Man Who Made Melissa Love Her Appearance

After moving to Los Angeles in 1996, McCarthy became a part of the Groundlings, a comedy troupe. That's where she met Ben Falcone, an actor, and writer who became her husband in 2005.

While pregnant with their first child, Vivian, the actress began packing on the weight again. That period "felt magical" as it was the first time she ate without thinking about it, and after welcoming Georgette, the star fought against post-baby weight gain.

McCarthy admitted that she struggled to shed the weight after welcoming her second daughter and judged herself harshly when she saw her reflection. However, she only wanted to be healthy as she knew when she felt good.

The actress, who wasn't after a specific weight size, also tried to be exemplary to her children by showing them how to be healthy. She and Ben worked as a team as they always made pureed vegetable soup that stayed in the fridge, and their daughters never ate processed foods.

Despite that, if Vivian wanted a cupcake, the couple would allow it once in a while. McCarthy hoped to teach her children not to "sweat the small stuff" and that gaining some weight wasn't the end of the world.

At her older age, Ben's wife said she wasn't as hard on herself as what was most important to her was her life, family, children, and job, which made her feel lucky. The "Bridesmaids" star said she credited her husband for helping her to feel comfortable in her body.

The actor did this by always being kind and loving to his wife. McCarthy shared how weird and funny Ben was, and in October 2020, she wished him a happy 15th wedding anniversary, stating on her Instagram:

"I'm so lucky and grateful to be married to such a lovely, smart, kind, and wonderful person."

For their sixteenth anniversary, the star said she was fortunate to have married "the most wonderful person in the world." When McCarthy was featured on the cover of a well-known magazine, fans were left in awe!

How Does Melissa Look In Her 50s?

McCarthy, then 52, was chosen to be the cover star for People's 2023 Beautiful Issue. Her reaction was to jokingly question if her parents held the two votes needed to make that happen, but truthfully, she was "incredibly flattered."

The "Little Mermaid" star felt the accolade was a note to her 20-year-old self and others. When Ben discovered how she would be honored, he said, "'Well, I think so too,'" but his wife chalked his words down to him being sweet.

[Melissa] McCarthy was described as "stunning!!!" and an "angelic beauty" by a fan who had no qualms about the post...

The celebrity said she hadn't told her daughters, but she anticipated that the honor might mean more to them as they age. People magazine shared an image of McCarthy's cover on Instagram, and fans were thrilled to see it!

A follower said they "love" the actress, but if they hadn't seen her name on the cover, they wouldn't have known who it was as it "looks nothing like her." Someone else also agreed that although the star was "beautiful," the image didn't look like her.

A social media user admitted they hadn't recognized Ben's wife in the picture. Another follower asked why the magazine had only shown her "very photoshopped face" as they deserved to see her in her "beautiful and confident" normal state.

McCarthy was described as "stunning!!!" and an "angelic beauty" by a fan who had no qualms about the post, while another person said she was an "epic Goddess." Someone else complained that they'd edited the "naturally pretty" actress too much.

A follower felt the mother of two was a "beautiful person inside and out" and found it "too bad" that they'd photoshopped the image so much she was "barely recognizable." The fan urged McCarthy to move away from technology's influence so the real person could be released.

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