'My Giant Life' Star Krista Kay Reveals How She Laughs off the Body Shamers (EXCLUSIVE)
Updated: Oct 3, 2017 6:07 pm
By Anna Quintana
She might be on the "shorter" end of the spectrum when it comes to her My Giant Life co-stars, but for as long as Krista Kay can remember, she has always been the tallest woman in the room. Growing up in a small town in South Dakota, her six foot, six-inch stature definitely made her stand out — and she has developed a thick skin when it comes to body shamers.
"Middle school was probably the worst for me," she told Life & Style exclusively. "My main coping method was comedy. I would just agree with what people would say in a joking manner which takes the power away from the bully. How people treat you, reflects who they are and NOT who you are."
She also explained how sometimes people aren't even aware they are being bullies, like when strangers ask her why she doesn't play for the WNBA, even if she did play five years of college basketball and one year professionally in Australia. "Some people literally look at me like I’m a waste of life because I’m not in the WNBA," she said. "I started rebelling against the stereotype that tall people should be basketball players. Even though getting the opportunity to play professional basketball overseas was a huge blessing, it wasn’t fulfilling enough for me.
She continued, "Basketball was the first thing to give me a sense of purpose but as I have gotten older, I know I have such a greater purpose than just putting a ball in a hoop." Today, along with starring on the TLC reality series, Krista is also a life coach and working on her comedy.
"The most challenging part of being tall is getting asked the same questions about my height daily," she added. "It gets repetitive but since I have been doing stand-up comedy, I almost look forward to what people have to say because it can be really bizarre sometimes!"
Be sure to tune into My Giant Life on Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on TLC.