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A plus-sized woman has defended her relationship against critics who have accused her boyfriend of being a 'feeder'.
Maria and Alin are in a 'mixed weight relationship' and their pairing has received criticism both in real life and online.
The Austrian couple met through TikTok and have been together for several years now.
But the couple have received a huge amount of trolling online, as people would make assumptions about why they're together.
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Maria told Truly: "There are many people who think I don't deserve to live just because I'm fat.
"I never had problems dating anybody, I think I just got confident at a very young age."
She continued: "I get DMs from people, they tell me I should die and that they don't understand why someone deserves to live when they're fat like I am.
"Nowadays I just don't care, because I know these people are trolls on the internet who don't even know us."
She also hit back at the assumption that Alin is a 'feeder', saying: "People also assume that he feeds me things to gain weight.
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"I didn't gain any weight since I'm with him.
"Or they assume he fetishises me."
Although Alin admits he has a preference for bigger women, he says he had never been in a 'weight gap' relationship before.
He said: "Before Maria, I'd never been in a committed relationship with a plus size woman.
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"I would say I definitely have a preference for plus size women. But there was also a lot of stigma around it.
"I changed my mind once we actually got into a relationship.
"There were definitely toxic people and relationships that I went away from. I had a very good friend ask me, 'How can you even be with her?'
"We do get a lot of judgement when we walk in the streets, they can't believe that someone like me is with her."
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For Maria, finding clothes that fit her is a difficult task.
But luckily for her, Alin is quite handy in the crafts department and is able to make clothes for his partner.
Alin explained: "I wanted her to feel beautiful and have nice clothes."
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Maria gushed: "I love that Alin makes my clothes.
"If there's anything I cannot buy in stores, then I go to him and ask if it's practical that he can sew it for me."
The couple have also received a lot of supportive comments online.
One person wrote: "In all honesty, he should open a plus-size shop because he has a lot of talent. The dresses are so pretty.
"Like, get your money, man. I'm happy they have found happiness in each other."
Someone else called them 'so sweet' and a 'great couple'.
Another supporter commented: "They go together as a couple. People are always emphasizing the difference. What matters is that there relationship is genuine and they make each other happy. [sic]"
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/maria_sxhTopics: Sex and Relationships, TikTok