Grace Teal, 35, was dubbed ‘England’s sexiest fan’ after posting the picture to much attention (Picture: @missgracejtealofficial / Instagram)
A woman who dressed in a bikini to support the England football team has hit back at online bullies.
Grace Teal, 35, was dubbed ‘England’s sexiest fan’ after posting the picture to much attention – but also received hundreds of abusive messages at the same time.
The mum, from Doncaster in Yorkshire, said: ‘Obviously I am really flattered by it and it is really nice to be called that.
‘It gives me a confidence boost, it is an honour – it is harmless fun and banter and I am all for that for the World Cup.
‘I am a big football fan, I always get involved to do anything with football I am always behind them.
‘I have a little boy and he is big into it too, I try and go down to the pub and watch the game and support everybody.
‘The World Cup is a great opportunity to get everyone together and celebrate.
‘But the trolling I’ve been on the end of makes my heart sink.
‘It made me feel really upset. I went and stood in front of the mirror and thought: “Do I really look like that?”‘
The businesswoman posted a picture of herself posing in her kitchen wearing a red bikini with long white football socks (Picture: SWNS)
Grace is a huge football fan and England supporter (Picture: SWNS)
She said however she was ‘deeply hurt’ by the abusive messages she received afterwards (Picture: SWNS)
The businesswoman posted a picture of herself posing in her kitchen wearing a red bikini with long white football socks.
But she said she was ‘deeply hurt’ by comments calling her an ‘attention seeker’ and saying ‘there’s more plastic in her than the ocean’.
Another comment claimed there was ‘more foundation on her than a building site’ and called her ‘a mannequin’.
One person even asked: ‘What’s wrong with her face? Was she in a fire?’
But Grace said she ‘won’t let it define her’ and has called for new laws to protect people from online trolls.
‘I am quite insecure in a lot of ways, and I am successful in my own rights – people were saying that I am a gold digger, and I am cheap,’ she added.
‘I honestly think the reason why people do these things is they feel they can do it because they are sat behind their screens.
‘If someone came up to you and started harassing you in that kind of way, it would be a criminal offence.
Grace, a former glamour model, said she won’t let the trolling ‘define her’ (Picture: SWNS)
She said ‘self-love is everything’ and will put it behind her (Picture: @missgracejtealofficial / Instagram)
‘I think something needs to be put in place where harassment isn’t just physical and not just by someone you know – there needs to be a law in place that covers social media.’
She used to be a glamour model but said she ‘came out of retirement’ to post the picture.
‘Self-love is everything,’ Grace said. ‘There is nothing wrong with embracing yourself and where you come from.
‘I have a child. I have worked my arse off and got my body to where I wanted – I am proud of myself.
‘I want to stand up against these comments, take a grip of all this nastiness that is going on.
‘I want people to know that they have hurt my feelings, but they haven’t put me down.’
She has also called for an easier way to report abuse on social media platforms.
‘There needs to be something put in where they can identify horrible posts and comments and take them down,’ she said.
‘There needs to be an easier way for people to report abuse online, so you have that reassurance that something is being done about it.’
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‘It made me feel really upset. I went and stood in front of the mirror and thought: “Do I really look like that?”‘
