Lingerie model: “My ex left me after a stoma op – but I feel sexier than ever!”
Rachael Kin lost the love of her life after bowel surgery, but now feels more confident and glamorous than ever…
● For help and support, visit www.colostomyuk.org ❛ HE WAS SO EMBARRASSED, BUT I’M FINALLY PROUD OF WHO I AM ❜
Rachael Kin hit rock bottom when her relationship broke down after she was fitted with a stoma bag following an operation. But she got the perfect revenge – by being crowned a beauty queen.
Rachael, 28, who lives in High Wycombe with her daughter, Maja, ten, says, “I felt like my boyfriend was so embarrassed by my stoma bag. He struggled to accept it and said it should be kept private. He even discouraged me from wearing bikinis, which I loved.
“I tried to embrace my new life, but I still didn’t feel like I had my partner’s support. So, a year later, we broke up. But rather than let his comments get to me, I researched body positive beauty pageants online, and decided to enter Miss Divine UK – which aims to break the stereotypes of the modelling industry. I was so happy when I won my local round.”
Rachael first started experiencing health problems in January 2017.
She says, “I was training for the London Marathon and was in the best shape of my life. So when I started getting stomach aches and a bit of bleeding from the rectum, I wasn’t too worried because I was so healthy.
CRIPPLING PAIN
“But soon, I was going to the toilet at least 20 times a day and had crippling stomach pain. I’d have accidents because I couldn’t get to the toilet in time. My weight dropped from 8st 7lbs to 7st, so I went to see my GP.”
Medics did tests but couldn’t find anything wrong, until she collapsed while running and was rushed to hospital in June 2017, where she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – an inflammation of the colon.
She says, “I couldn’t hear anything and my vision was blurred. None of the blood infusions were working, so doctors had to remove my large bowel and perform an ileostomy – where a hole is made in the stomach to divert waste from the intestine into a stoma bag.
“I had to give up my career as a lingerie model and became incredibly depressed. I didn’t know anybody else with a stoma bag and felt so alone.
“And although my stoma bag didn’t affect our sex life, my partner hated me wearing it openly in public and discouraged me from doing things like sunbathing or going to the beach.”
Eventually, in May 2018, the couple separated.
Rachael says, “I wanted to prove that I could still feel sexy with a stoma bag. That’s what inspired me to enter Miss Divine UK.
“Winning helped me to accept the bag. I’ve even started doing lingerie shoots again. I want to change the way people view beauty. My ex may have been embarrassed by my stoma bag, but I’m finally proud of who I am.”
POSITIVE FUTURE
Rachael’s ex says, “I think she interpreted some of my comments differently to how I meant them, but I did try to be supportive. I’m sorry she thinks I didn’t, but I’m glad she’s turned a negative into a positive and I wish her all the best.”