My [M30] wife [F28] is objectively not fat/obese/chubby. This isn't me being a biased husband, my wife's body is perfectly normal. She's not super skinny, but she's nowhere near fat; she has the perfect middle ground of being slightly curvy and healthy. And multiple other people have told her this, as well.
However, she think she's hideous and obese. And nothing I say convinces her otherwise.
She certainly appreciates the compliments. I call her beautiful, sexy, I'm obsessed with her body, etc. During sex, I tell her how hot she is and I can't get enough of her, which she responds positively to.
Yet throughout the day, I'll see her looking in the mirror frequently sucking her stomach in, etc. Or she'll mention how big her legs are or how she feels obese. She has switched from bikinis to one pieces, and while she says it's because they are sexier, I think it's because she's struggling with body image issues.
She'll make comments about skinny celebrities like Zendaya or Margot Robbie and say, "She has the perfect body."
She runs quite a bit, does races, and all that, and she is on social media a good amount. Not addicted or anything, but like many young women, she'll be on social media scrolling at random points throughout the day. She sees very skinny female runners with abs, and thinks that's how she has to look.
And it's impacting my own mental health because, as her husband, I want her to be happy. So when she is so stubborn about her body image, no matter how much I tell her otherwise, I get extremely frustrated as well.
It's gotten to the point that I've gone into her Instagram and unfollowed a number of very skinny fitness women she followed. Perhaps I shouldn't have done that, but I'm convinced that if she stayed away from social media, things would get better.
I'm desperate. We don't have kids, my wife has never given birth, and I'm terrified that when we do have kids, she will hate her pregnant body to such a degree that it will cause depression or other mental issues.
Do any husbands here have any advice? Or perhaps advice from women who have gone through this and come out the other side?
I've suggested therapy, but she doesn't think she has an issue. She's simply convinced that the way she looks is "bad" and the way other fit women look is "correct." I literally think her body is banging/smoking/insert adjective here, and it's true, I 100% think this. It doesn't matter, no matter what I say or do.