Katie Johnstone may have signed up for Married at First Sight in the hopes of finding romantic love, but her time on the show has led her to find a different kind of love entirely.
Australia fell in love with the radiant redhead from her first onscreen appearance as she put her trust in the experts to help her find that special someone.
While she and husband Tim Gromie had plenty in common on the surface, Katie was ultimately left heartbroken, prompting her to embark on a new journey that prioritised her physical and mental health for the first time in years.
In a raw conversation on The Checkup with Woman’s Day, the reality star admitted that after years of battling with her body image, and after her abysmal marriage on MAFS, she decided to finally prioritise herself.
“That was the tipping point for me. I needed to start working on my internal self first, my heart and my mind, because that really set a foundation for myself to then go, play, I feel mentally strong enough and motivated enough and safe enough.”
After building back up her self-confidence, Katie finally felt “good enough” to focus on her physical health and embark on a weight loss journey.
“My physical body just never represented who I felt like on the inside. And I felt the distance between it. And that was getting me down the most,” she admitted.
While she tried a “few different things”, the 37-year-old said it wasn’t until she started a more holistic regimen that she finally started seeing results.
“You know, you might try everything, but it’s kind of bringing it all into one place and realising what really works for you.”
According to the Queenslander, after her GP informed her that her visceral fat levels were dangerously high and would result in an “early death”, she knew she had to change her lifestyle and fast.
“That was the shock that I needed to take this journey very seriously, because now I’ve gone from wanting to just be healthy to saving my life.”
In the five months since, Katie has lost approximately 30 kilograms thanks to the combined support of a nutritionist, personal trainer, and the use of a weight-loss injection prescribed by her GP that has helped her get her “hunger noise” under control.
As for what the future holds, while fans of MAFS have petitioned casting producers to give her a second chance at finding love on the show like fellow bride Lizzie Sobinoff, Katie has an entirely different dating series in mind.
“I jokingly said I want to go on The Bachelorette [to] make up for my shi*** dating history.”
“To be completely honest, I just want to keep seeing where this journey takes me and just let the handbrake off life and see what happens.”
For those who are ready to embark on a journey of self-love of their own, Katie also had a few parting words of advice to share.
“The foundation is built with self-love. Everything else organically will come, and you get the right help and the right building blocks. And you can make an empire.”
Listen to Katie’s full interview with our sister publication Woman’s Day on The Check Up podcast here.
