Mom: Michele (57)

Daughter: Candice (27)

Location: Ocala, Florida

Mom Occupation: Hair Stylist

Daughter Occupation: Plus Size Model & Business Owner

 More To Love

This loud and proud, plus-sized mom and daughter cling to each other in a big way! Candice (a reigning plus size beauty queen) says, “hello” to her mother by licking her face and mom in turn is just as obsessed. Mom keeps all Candice’s baby teeth in a special box in her room. This high-energy, irreverent, and hysterical duo does everything together. They even take scantily clad photos of one another. And even though they are considered plus-sized, they are unapologetically proud of their bodies. Now, the voluptuous duo is planning to take the crown TOGETHER in a plus sized pageant!

With Candice being the only daughter in the family, she and Michele have always had a special bond. When Candice was just 11 years old, her father passed away; in 2018, her brother passed away as well. Through these losses Candice and Michele have both realized how precious family time is; you have to savor every moment because you never know what’s next. This makes Michele extremely protective over her daughter. She shows up to her house unannounced. She calls Candice’s fiancé Dre if she can’t get through to Candice. Mom will even dial up Candice’s assistant to see how Candice is doing. Mom will stop at nothing to confirm that her daughter is healthy and safe.    

Of course, things aren’t always copacetic. Dre, Candice’s fiancé, believes that some things should be kept between you and your partner and not to include your partner’s mother. When it comes to their son, Phoenix (who’s not biologically Dre’s son, but calls him “dad” anyway), Michele’s opinions are never ending. Michele has a hand in everything that pertains to Phoenix. Dre says she’s constantly imposing and giving advice, which isn’t always necessary for a young couple trying to build their own life. Dre admits that his biggest regret is giving Michele his phone number as she’s constantly calling to check in, get updates on her daughter, her grandson, etc. A bigger issue to Dre, however, is Michele’s attitude towards Candice’s weight.

 Candice is a successful plus-sized model and she could not be happier in her line of work. She loves inspiring other women to love their bodies and is constantly preaching the message that being a beautiful person on the inside who focuses on kindness to others is what makes someone beautiful in the end. Candice thinks she’s been able to inspire her mom as well and hopes to get her mom more involved in modeling. The two have done modeling gigs together before, but Candice wants her mom to get even more involved with that part of her world. Mom’s dabbled in mature modeling before, even doing some lingerie photoshoots, but Candice thinks doing even more work together would bring them even closer. According to Dre, however, there’s a much more different story going on behind the scenes.

Michele is constantly nagging Candice about her weight, even going behind Candice’s back to talk to Dre about it. The concern is health-based, so she says. It makes sense for a mom who has tragically lost both her husband and son to be concerned about the health of her surviving daughter. However, Dre thinks this behavior is incredibly toxic and inappropriate. Candice has to deal with so much hate on social media for being a big woman in the modeling field that Dre can’t believe the same negative attitudes are coming from her own mother as well. Michele will criticize Dre for cooking so much, telling him that he’s contributing to the problem that is Candice’s weight. Dre says that Michele is one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, but he gets moved to tears thinking about the negative judgment she places on her daughter. Though Michele and Candice’s relationship seems smooth sailing on the surface, there’s clearly a lot bubbling underneath. 

Candice and Dre are engaged and are planning a wedding together. They are super excited about the big day, but Dre is dreading mother Michele’s input on their special day! Will she try to make Candice slim down to fit in the dress? Will Michele become overly involved in their wedding? And will Candice see eye to eye with Dre’s vision of the wedding, or will she side with her mother? All while Michele is balancing being a mom herself, running a business and being a plus size model. And to add on to everything going on, Candice is working to get her mom involved in a plus sized pageant so she can be as proud of herself as she is!