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Bootylicious… meet the 420lb mother of four with the widest hips in the world who measures a staggering 8ft in circumference
One lady most certainly of the opinion that men prefer curves is Mikel Ruffinelli, a 420-pound mother of four who measures a staggering eight-foot in circumference.
At just five-foot-four, 39-year-old Mikel, who lives in Los Angeles, is substantially wider than she is tall, but says she wouldn’t want it any other way.
‘I love my shape and I see no reason to diet because I don’t have health problems,’ explains Mikel, has a proportionally small 40-inch waist. ‘Men don’t fancy skinny girls, they like an hourglass figure.’
Living large: Mikel is a size 30 and earns $1,000 per shoot modelling for a Big Beautiful Women website
Curvy: Mikel Ruffinelli loves her shape and sees no reason to diet despite having to use a special steel chair
While the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and Beyonce will probably all agree, they don’t have to face the kind of challenges that Mikel does on a daily basis.
As well as having to walk through most doors sideways, Mikel drives a truck because she can’t fit into a car. At home, the woman with the widest hips in the world has to sit in steel-supported chairs and sleeps on a 7ft-wide bed.
At just 5ft 4in Mikel is wider than she is tall but says she wouldn’t have it any other wa
Biggest fan: Husband Reggie Brooks measuring Mikel’s hips which are an amazing 8ft in circumference
Mikel Ruffinellli cooks dinner at her home in Los Angeles and insists she does not want to lose weight
Big love: Mikel Ruffinelli with her husband Reggie Brooks on the beach in Los Angeles, California
At 22, Mikel had her first child, Andrew, now 19, from a previous relationship, and that is when she started gaining the weight. From 182-pounds and a size 14, she piled on the pounds until she was 238-pounds and a size 18.
Then she meet Reggie and over the next decade had three more children: Destynee, 13, Autumn, nine, and Justyce, seven. Her hips ballooned as she reached 420 pounds and a size 30.
‘I put it down to my pregnancies. I don’t see why else the weight would go to my hips, although, I do eat lots,’ she told Closer.
Mikel, who is studying for a psychology degree, has a healthy appetite and typically consumes 3,000 calories a day.
‘It sounds like a lot to have 3,000 calories, but for someone my size, it’s not really.
‘I might have a breakfast of two eggs with sausage and bacon and a handful of potatoes. Lunch is fried fish and French fries, but dinner’s my big meal,’ she confesses.
Larger than life: Mikel Ruffinelli who has the world’s biggest hips is hugged by her husband Reggie Brooks
‘I like to make barbecue chicken with rice or mash. I have a big portion – but I’m not greedy. I snack on peanuts, granola bars and crisps.’
As she has gotten older Mikel says she had grown more comfortable with her shape and size.
‘In the past, I was self-conscious about my hips and tried milkshake diets, but they didn’t work. As I got older, I learned to love my body and now I’m not afraid to show it off.’
Over the past five years as her confidence has grown she has taken to modelling for a Big Beautiful Women website and earns up to $1000 per shoot.