Shelley-Marie Sumner, 23, was relentlessly mocked by her cruel classmates due to her severe eczema, which left her confidence in tatters, even as her skin cleared up in later years.
Metro Uk reports that, after her boyfriend Dean convinced her she was beautiful, she finally felt confident enough to enter this year’s Miss Black Country beauty pageant, which she won.
She said of her bullying: ‘In primary school it wasn’t as bad as you’re only children, but at high school the bullying got much worse. People would try and get away from me like I was contagious.
‘We had to wear long-sleeved shirts so during the summer, I was always going to see the school nurse to put my eczema cream on and cool down.’
Shelley-Marie’s small stature, along with her skin, made her an easy target for bullies. However, now she has had the last laugh after winning the regional competition as well as competing in Miss England.
Shelley-Marie’s eczema became the target for her mean class mates (Picture: Cavendish)
‘It was completely mad. I was sitting on a throne with this big crown on and my family were staring at me in amazement. I was extremely happy to have won it,’ she said.
After years of being made fun of, Shelley-Marie said it felt ‘amazing to show the bullies what I could achieve, despite all their cruelty’.
Shelley-Marie credits her boyfriend Dean Williams with rebuilding her confidence (Picture: Cavendish)
Not only has her victory improved her self esteem, but it has also given Shelley-Marie a new sense of direction in life.
‘In the future I’d like to go into schools and talk about bullying and self-esteem. I want to urge victims to speak up and not suffer in silence like I did,’ she said.
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