On her YouTube channel, season 7 Married At First Sight contestant Vanessa Romito once gave some sage advice.
WATCH: Vaneses’s heartbreaking bullying story.
“We all have flaws and insecurities but that’s what makes us a different type of perfect,” she said.
“Be happy with who you are.”
But devastatingly, it seems the 31-year-old may not be as confident in herself as she sounded, with the bride-to-be revealing the extent of her insecurities during her wedding preparations.
“I don’t think anyone would be truly satisfied with this,” she says, gesturing towards her face – which is beautiful.
“People tend to pick out your imperfections… and I have a lot of them.”
Vanessa has openly spoken about her “disfiguring acne”, explaining that it has crippled her self-confidence.
And while she talks about scarring that the acne left behind, it seems the emotional scars run deepest for this MAFS star.
“Because of my skin, I don’t go out on day dates. I’m most attractive at night when the lighting is dim,” she jokes, hiding her pain behind humour.
Sadly, the pharmacy manager‘s sense of self-worth took a massive hit over the years, after she was subjected to bullying and name-calling when she was younger.
“People used to call me a ‘thing,'” she says – adding that she’s convinced her TV husband won’t like what he sees when they meet for the first time on their wedding day.
“I wish I had more confidence but I think my looks are 100 per cent going to disappoint him,” she says in the lead-up to her wedding to single dad Chris Nicholls.
“I can’t change my skin. So I’ll never be my idea of pretty.”
Vanessa – who is former MAFS participant Bronson Norrish‘s ex girlfriend – knows that looks aren’t everything; it’s what’s inside that truly counts when it comes to making a relationship work.
Even so, she’s not convinced that any man would be able to see past her perceived ‘flaws’ long enough to find out what lies beneath.
“Beauty is only skin deep, but you don’t get to that next date if they don’t like what they see,” she says, sadly.
“I’m nothing special, there’s a thousand girls out there who are prettier looking… but he got me.”
Thankfully, Chris, had a very different first impression of the raven-haired beauty to what she was expecting.
“Nice eyes. Nice smile…” he said.
“She’s a pretty girl.”
We hope Chris can help Vanessa see what he does – her beauty inside and out.
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