Everyone knows nothing good comes from reading someone else's diary.
But for husband and wife, Earl and Bernie Stewart, nothing could be further from the truth.
Although Earl didn't quite see it like that when he took a peak at his wife's private thoughts and found out – in black and white – what she really thought of him.
Instead of mundane daily news, or lines explaining how much she loved him, Bernie had really let rip about how much her husband had let himself go.
Bernie even described Earl as a "useless overweight loafer" in the cutting poem penned in her diary.
She said: "After writing my poem about Earl I read it back and laughed. It was tongue-in-cheek and only meant for me, to make me feel better.
"So when I left my tablet on the kitchen table and caught Earl reading the poem in my memo app, I got a horrible sinking feeling.”
"He went mad. We had a huge row and though I tried to explain it was only meant to be a laugh, I knew my words had hit him hard."
But now the 49-year-old has got his own back in the best possible way.
Construction worker Earl has shed a massive three stone in just three months while his daily workouts have left him with a rippling six-pack – and Bernie couldn't be happier.
Bernie, who writes poetry to help her deal with stress, says she was provoked into writing the poem because of Earl's constant comments about her fluctuating weights throughout her two pregnancies.
And it's had a hugely positive impact on Bernie too, who once tipped the scales at 16 stone.
She is now following her own healthy eating place and has lost a stone and a half
Earl said: "I can’t say I wasn’t a tad p***** off when I read Bern’s poem, but everything happens for a reason.
"I suppose I have been a bit harsh in the past about her weight, but it was mostly for laughs.
"Now we are motivating each other to be healthy and are definitely much happier."
The couple, who left Gloucestershire in 2016 to travel around Spain, had always had an intense and spontaneous marriage.
Bernie said: "Two weeks after I met my husband Earl, we got each other’s names tattooed on our wrists.
"We were married within 10 weeks, and I was expecting our first child just two weeks after that.
"Though our relationship was strong, my husband had always been vain and kept in shape, which meant he couldn’t help picking on me and my weight.
"It really bugged me – I had always battled with my body shape and was overweight before we met.
"I felt in pretty good shape throughout most of our relationship, but he still made mean comments, like ‘I can see your belly through your top’ and ‘you’re really bottom heavy’.
"Thankfully I learnt not to take his cruel words to heart."
When the pair travelled to Spain with their two kids, Caden, nine, and Frankie, six, Earl started eating and drinking to much.
Bernie said: "He became podgy without even realising it, yet still had the cheek to call me fat.
"So one day, while Earl was sprawled out on the sofa with his gut hanging out, I started tapping away on my iPad with a new diary entry."
After Earl read her poem, Bernie admits she spent the next two days grovelling.
She said: "I felt so guilty. But later that week he looked in the mirror and realised he’d let himself go.
"He agreed he shouldn’t have been criticising me when he was the one who’d gained weight."
For the next three months, Earl became dedicated to eating healthily and exercising everyday, pushing himself to the limit and even entering a bodybuilding competition.
Bernie who had been yo-yo dieting for years joined her husband by changing what she ate and soon they were both dropping pounds.
She said: “Earl always knew about my weight issues. Before we’d met, a weakness for anything smothered in cheese resulted in me reaching 16 stone.
“I have never been that big since but I gained weight with both pregnancies and Earl made sure I knew about it.
"Every time I looked in the mirror I saw a fat person staring back at me.
"Earl on the other hand has always been a fitness freak and was as slim as they came. He’d be the first to admit he’s vain."
It was months after travelling to Spain that Bernie noticed the svelte, muscly man she had fallen in love with had let himself go.
She said: “Earl’s love of beer and greasy tapas dishes had turned his abs to flab, without him even realising it.
"I was secretly pleased. It had always been Earl picking on me, but now he was the one with the spare tyre."
After Earl decided to get in shape, Bernie took ‘before’ photos of him.
Then he started working out by hiking up mountains and running miles to the next town, carrying weights in his backpack.
Bernie said: "Now Earl is ripped and I find it hilarious to watch women’s heads turn for him in the street.
"My poem also made Earl realise he shouldn’t have picked on me for so long and he’s apologised for criticising me."
Bernie's fat shaming poem
These s*** soppy love songs, they do make me laugh,
They don’t speak of nose hair or rims round the bath.
Or p*** on the toilet seat, hair in the brush,
Or pimples or stretch marks or syphilis or thrush.
No songs on endless rows about pointless sh*t,
That often your partner will act like a t**.
And f*** you off so much that you want him gone,
They just speak of bullplop, how he is ‘The One’.
Yeah, he is ‘The One’ who stinks out the loo,
When he’s in there for hours, taking a poo.
Who leaves off the toothpaste and shampoo lid,
Who’s grumpy and moany and acts like a kid.
He is the useless, overweight loafer,
‘The one’ who farts loudly whilst sat on the sofa.
Hogging the remote whilst he clips his toenails,
Watching football, or cop shows or world’s toughest jails.
‘The One’ who is constantly adjusting his b****.
‘Oh he is ‘The One’, Christ yes, he’s my ‘all’!
My world and my everything, he is my life,
I wish I’d said ‘no’ when he said, “Be my wife”!
So when they all sing about meeting ‘The One’,
Wait ‘till they see what comes out of his bum!
Earl added: “I never meant for my words to hurt Bernie but now realise I shouldn’t have said them. She looks great and I will always love her just the way she is."
Bernie said: "The words in my diary were harsh but I don’t regret them, because they gave Earl a kick up the bum and our marriage the boost it needed.
"Now we’re loved up and whenever I need cheering up, I just read through my poem again – in secret of course."
Source: Read Full Article