A couple of differing weights insist they accept the comments of social media trolls who are shocked to see the two together.
Opinions are divided between Lexie Wilson and Jakobe Smith due to their noticeably different body sizes.
Lexie, 20, and Jakobe, 21, from Alabama have over 176,000 followers on TikTok, where they give an insight into their five-year relationship.
Speaking to the US Sun, they revealed the challenges of sharing their romance online.
DESTRUCTION ON TV
Lexie and Jakobe met in school, where he was a year above her – but their friendship developed through Snapchat.
“I posted on Snapchat my freshman year that I wanted a best friend,” Lexie said.
“He slid around on it and said, ‘I’ll be your best friend.’
“After that, we immediately became best friends, texting each other every day and calling each other every day after school.”
Seven months later, their friendship developed into something more.
Jakobe said they were studying the Bible when the priest began to explain the characteristics of being in love.
“Lexi called me one Sunday and we talked about church, but then she just took a break,” he said.
“She said, ‘Jakobe, wait, I think I’m in love with you.’ I thought she was joking, but she was serious.”
Mom always knows
Lexie’s mother predicted all along that it would be more than just friendship.
“When we were best friends, my mom always said, ‘You should give Jakobe a chance, he’s fine and he’s really nice to you and stuff,'” she said.
“She always thought we would end up together.
“The day I realized I was in love with him, I told my mom after I told him.
“I said, ‘Mom, I think I’m in love with Jakobe,’ and she said, ‘You could have been told that.'”
SELF-CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY
Lexie admits that she didn’t have a particular type before her relationship with Jakobe, but couldn’t imagine a relationship with a taller man – until she stopped noticing his size at all.
“We’ve been friends for so long and you get used to looking at someone,” she said.
“I guess it (Jacobe’s size) just wasn’t as noticeable anymore.
There are a lot of heavier people down here in the south anyway.
Lexi Wilson
“He never had problems with his self-esteem. Jakobe thinks he looks good straight out of bed.
“I’ve always been confident too. I’ve never had any problems with that since I was little.”
NOT SO UNIQUE
Friends and family of the couple have never commented on their sizes – in fact, it is not much different where they live.
“That (couples with different weights) is pretty common here,” Lexie said of Alabama.
“There are couples of all sizes, fat people are together, thin people are together.
“And there are a lot of heavier people down here in the south anyway.”
TIKTOK BRINGS THE HATERS
However, when they shared photos of themselves on TikTok, they received a flood of negative comments.
Although many couples thank them for normalizing relationships of varying weights, there are also trolls.
But instead of getting upset, they feel inspired.
He is a little taller, but he has a very handsome face. He is very respectful and kind to me… I like the way Jacob looks, no one can tell me he is ugly.
Lexie
“Jakobe likes to drive everyone crazy,” Lexie said.
“The more you get them talking in the comments, the more your videos will be pushed and that will make us more money at the end of the month.”
ONLY THESE SAD SKINNY BOYS
She said trolls try to project “their own insecurities” onto other people out of boredom.
It is mostly “skinny guys” who leave hate comments under their TikTok videos.
“They look at Jakobe and see him in a healthy relationship and think, ‘He’s taller than me,’ but they think they look better than Jakobe,” she said.
“They say, ‘Why can’t I do what he does?’
“And I’m supposedly better looking than him just because he’s tall or something.”
LOOK OF LOVE
Lexie disagrees.
“I like the way Jacob looks, no one can tell me he is ugly,” she continued.
“He is just a little bit taller, but he has a very pretty face. He is very respectful and nice to me.
“He never called me by my name and a lot of people can’t say that because they have friends and stuff and kind of talk to them.
“He is very respectful towards my parents and very intelligent. Jakobe has opened my eyes to many things since we have been together.
“I like his confidence. He is very athletic and enjoys playing sports.”
KING OF THE TROLLS
Jakobe said he tries to respond to all comments but has to follow TikTok’s guidelines.
If they say the wrong thing, the social media app will block their account or remove their comments.
He reacts sarcastically when men ask for dating advice during live streams.
“Someone asked us live the other day, ‘Hey Kobe, do you have any relationship advice for me?'” he said.
“And he was a bigger guy.
We’ve been talking about getting married since we were 18, but her parents said no… We’re definitely going to get married before January.
Jacob Smith
“I said, ‘Lose weight, get lean, go to the gym. That’s what you have to do.’
“I’ll just troll her all the time.”
The couple said they receive more hate on TikTok than any other social media platform.
“Facebook is really just about jokes and not anything too crazy,” Jakobe said.
“Kids on TikTok are recycling stuff in the hopes of creating a viral moment.
“They go from one video to the next to see the comment with the most likes.
“They copy and paste it word for word just to get the comment that gets the most likes.
“I can reply whatever I want on Facebook so people don’t say anything too crazy.
“On most other platforms, YouTube and Instagram, most of the comments say they’re proud of us, they’re going to keep going, they like our relationship.”
A WEDDING AND 12 CHILDREN
Lexie said you have to have a “thick skin” to share your relationship online because people will talk no matter what you post.
She and Jakobe both still live at home with their parents, but regularly spend evenings together watching a film or baking.
“We have been talking about getting married since we were 18, but her parents refused,” Jakobe said.
“Now we are just waiting for everything to work out, but a wedding is in the planning stages.
“We will definitely get married before January.
“I want about 12 children, but I don’t want to raise 12 children after I’m 40.”
Lexie joked that she doesn’t want to have more than three children and said they won’t start a family until they are financially stable.
Jakobe raved that he liked everything about Lexie and that they could support each other in everything.
“My weaknesses are their strengths and their weaknesses are my strengths,” he said.