Richie’s the love of my life, but he’s eating himself to death
But behind the shocking story, his despairing ex Treasa Pheur – who kicked him out of their home to make him wake up to his weight problem – says she’s desperate for her ex to slim down before he dies.
“Richie’s the love of my life, but he’s eating himself to death,” Treasa, 40, tells Closer. “I’m desperate to get back the man I fell in love with. I threw him out to shock him into losing weight, but it didn’t work and he’s now 44st. I used to find him attractive, but now he’s sexually repulsive.”
Treasa met Richie, 44, in a pub in 1989 and moved in with him a year later in Bantry, Ireland. The couple went on to have two kids, Richard, 20, and Robert, 14.
Treasa, who’s a stay-at-home mum, recalls: “He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. He was 6ft 2 and muscly.”
But as they settled down into family life, she noticed Richie was putting on weight. Treasa says: “It was gradual at first. I used to poke his stomach and say he was getting big, but he’d laugh it off.”
But it soon became beyond a joke. After six years, Richie was 20st and Treasa, who’s a size 10, started trying to get him to quit snacking and eating fast food.
I felt I was losing the man I loved – we stopped sleeping together because I didn’t find him attractive
“We were rowing about his weight all the time – I kept saying he’d have a heart attack but he’d just laugh. I was so frustrated. I felt I was losing the man I loved – we stopped sleeping together because I didn’t find him attractive.
“I’d cook healthy meals with meat and veg in normal portions, but he’d snack while he was working as a security guard. I couldn’t force him to diet – he’s not a child. I stopped buying any biscuits or crisps, but he’d buy them anyway. He convinced himself it wasn’t an issue.”
By 2011, Richie’s weight had reached 40st and Treasa asked him to leave. She says: “It broke my heart, but we couldn’t go on. He had to leave his job as he was so big, it was too exhausting. He’d just sit in front of the TV all day.
“He was devastated but I wanted him to realise he had to lose weight or lose me. The kids understood – they’d rather have us living apart than fighting.”
I just want the old Richie back, so we can be together
Richie moved into a council flat but, rather than coming to his senses, he put on even more weight. The couple still spoke every day and, after Richie suffered a minor heart attack last year, loving Treasa stepped in as his part-time carer
She says: “When the hospital called, I was in floods of tears – I thought he’d die. I couldn’t believe it had gone this far. He came out after three weeks and now I visit him every day, helping him shower and making sure he’s comfortable.
“The shock of the attack has made Richie realise he needs to lose weight. I do all his shopping and only buy healthy food and encourage him to move around the flat – so he’s lost a few pounds. He’s on the list for a gastric band but has to lose 8st before he’s eligible. He hates the fact I’m his carer.
“I just want the old Richie back, so we can be together.”
Richie says: “I’m trying to lose weight and hate to think of the upset I’ve caused my family. I just couldn’t stop eating. I want to make a fresh start with Treasa.”