And Samantha Bricks' most recent claim has once again sparked outrage, to the point of trending on Twitter, after she claimed that the answer to happiness is skinniness.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning to defend her claims, the 42-year-old revealed that she has been on a diet since the age of 14, and encouraged other women to do the same.
She told Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield:
“The logic is simple and irrefutable: any self-respecting woman wants to be thin, and to be thin you need to spend your life on a diet.
“I don't believe overweight is ever attractive. Whether we like it or not, we live in an age and a part of the world where men and women regard thin as beautiful.”
Samantha’s opinion piece on Joan Collins’ revelation that her secret to ‘looking good’ is to ‘diet every day of her life’, reads:
“Joan, 79, said she controlled her weight during a long career so that she could stay in work - an entirely laudable attitude.
“Like Joan, I have no intention of letting my body slide flabbily into middle age. I believe that any woman with a modicum of self-respect should watch her figure with the same vigour. Is it any coincidence that Joan is still attractive and in demand for work”.
'I've yet to meet a woman who has lost a lot of weight and wished they remained fat'
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Defending her article she said:
“In the article I talk about the first time that I realised that I was overweight and overlooked and chose to do something about it. I am not suggesting that anyone follows my 14-year-old self's diet methods but we do have a massive problem in this country with obesity. 66 per cent of the population are obese and 25 per cent of 4 and 5 year olds are overweight, it is a massive issue.
“I put on weight while undergoing IVF treatment and my husband has been incredibly supportive but yes I do think that he would leave me if I got fat.”
Natasha Devon, founder of the Body Gossip campaign Image which educates young girls on self-esteem, was also present at the show’s debate.
The writer, who has suffered from an eating disorder in the past, told Samantha:
“There are hundreds of ways to be gorgeous. We believe that healthy and confident is beauty, and healthy and confident means different things to different people.
'I put on weight while undergoing IVF treatment and my husband has been incredibly supportive but I do think he would leave me if I got fat'
“Some people let being thin take over their life. I don't know much about your life Samantha but it seems that you can't let go and enjoy yourself so I actually feel very sorry for you.”
Folllowing the debate, only 6% of viewers agreed with Samantha’s view that you can only be happy if you are on a diet, while a massive 94% agreed with Natasha's opinion, promoting happiness and healthiness.
In response Samantha said:
“I find it extremely alarming that, even though 1 in 4 British women are obese and 66% are overweight - they still believe diet is a dirty word and that it leads to eating disorders. There is zero evidence to back this up.
“I've yet to meet a woman (myself included) who has lost a lot of weight and wished they remained fat.”