Rhiannon Ingle
A woman was brought to tears by a stranger’s heartfelt gesture while she was working out at the gym.
The woman, Steph, took to TikTok to share the sweet story of when s fellow gym-goer's kind words truly touched her after previously 'struggling' with her fitness journey.
Steph revealed that, just a few week prior, two different people had made some body-shaming remarks about her after one of them 'coughed into his hand and said ogre'. Check it out:
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Clearly hurt by the rude comments, Steph was left to battle with 'deep-rooted insecurities' regarding her weight which has been affected by certain medical conditions.
In dealing with her medical problems, the woman revealed she was 'neglecting' herself hence why this one stranger's good-natured words had such a profoundly positive impact on her.
The stranger in question was a man with 'tattoos all over' who approached Steph as she was leaving the gym.
Initially, Steph was worried what he would do or say as he approached her, explaining: "There are a lot of thoughts going through your head being a bigger woman in the gym because there’s all sorts of ages there, different body types, like super fit, not fit, and it kind of messes with your head."
Instead, the kind-hearted stranger offered her some words of support and encouragement to bolster her on rather than tear her down like the other two previous men.
Steph recalled: "He goes, 'I’ve seen you in here every week, almost every day. I see you in here every week and I’m proud of you'.
She continued: "You have no idea how much people that are going through something appreciate the kindness."
Brought to tears by the whole thing, Steph went on: "He didn’t have to say it, he doesn’t even know what I’m going through.
"I’m just grateful for people like you guys that encourage us, people like me. Even if you’re not like bigger but you’re still, like, insecure about something."
"I was having a hard day today but you know what?” Steph concluded. "That made my day."
The TikTok has since gone viral after clocking up more than 12.9 million views on the platform with 1.5 million likes and dozens of thousands of comments from people eager to share their reactions to the heartwarming situation.
One TikTok user penned: "Girl I don’t even know you and I’m crying."
"We need more people like him…" commented a second. "Stay strong sister you got this! I’m proud of you too!"
A third praised: "Girl you are CRUSHING IT. That man you encountered is what real men do. Encourage. Support. Be human! It isn’t hard!"
Wise words to live by indeed.