His and hers gastric surgery

Louise Mills, 50, and husband Derek celebrated 14 years with the most unromantic of gifts

- MISHAAL KHAN, MATT BARBOUR

Sitting my husband, Derek, then 56, down, I gathered all my courage, finally ready to open up about my darkest fear. I knew he’d do everything he could to help – we’d been married almost 14 years and he’d been my linchpin through all life’s ups and downs. Now we were in the middle of planning a romantic Caribbean cruise to celebrate our forthcoming wedding anniversary.

Only, I was struggling to get excited because, while Derek knew I’d endlessly tried to diet and worried about my weight, he didn’t know how afraid I’d become. ‘I can’t stop overeating,’ I admitted. ‘And I’m scared it’ll kill me.’

When Derek and I had married in 2004, I’d proudly walked down the aisle in a beautiful size 12 dress, excited for our future together. At the time, I weighed 9st 7lb and felt good, as did Derek, who had a 36-inch waist.

I was a full-time carer for my daughter from a previous relationship, Laura, then 13, who had Down’s syndrome, step mum to Derek’s daughter, Kelly, 14, and my mum, Linda, 55, lived in an annexe attached to our home.

Life ticked along nicely for years. Not only was Mum a big help with Laura, but she was my best friend. In 2010, she was diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer, and died a month later, leaving me distraught.