In May 2005, Jill Roberts, a 20-year-old woman who was struggling with her weight, came on The Oprah Show to say that she was sick of being the fat one in her family.
From the outside, the Robertses looked like the perfect close-knit family, but Jill, the youngest of four children, said she always felt like an outsider. Jill had three skinny siblings and a father who reminded her every day that her weight wasn't acceptable to him.
"Does it bother me when we're out in public that Jill's overweight? It does. I'll be honest," said Kirk, Jill's father. "I'm ashamed of her weight, but I love my daughter dearly."
Jill said that her father had no idea how deeply his words hurt her, and she often turned to food for comfort. She shared her feelings for the first time on the show.
"I've wanted my dad to accept me my whole life," Jill says. "He treats me differently than he treats every other person in my family. My whole life he's told me that I'm not pretty and that I'm overweight and that I need to lose weight, and he's just never been nice to me. I feel so much hatred towards my father because of the way he treats me."
Published 11/06/2006
