Former world's fattest man sheds 48 stone and finds love after American woman spotted him on obesity documentary
- Paul Mason of Ipswich, Suffolk, weighed 70 stone at his heaviest
- Mason, 52, lost more than half his body weight after NHS surgery
- He has now found love with Rebecca Mountain, of Orange, Massachusetts
- He hopes that the pair will get to meet in person after speaking online
He was once the world's fattest man weighing in at a staggering 70 stone and consuming a mammoth 20,000 calories a day.
But it seems that after losing 48 stone following NHS surgery, it's not just Paul Mason's health that has a more promising outlook - his weight loss may have also boosted his love life.
Mr Mason has only known his new girlfriend Rebecca Mountain for a month and the pair are yet to meet, but already the 52-year old claims that Miss Mountain is the love of his life.
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'I can't think about anyone else and nor can she.'
The pair met online last month when Miss Mountain, of Orange, near Boston, Massachusetts, saw a television documentary about Mr Mason's extreme obesity - the result, he says, of overeating when a previous relationship ended.
She was so touched by his plight that Miss Mountain got in touch via Facebook keen to help Mr Mason in his bid to get the NHS to pay for a second operation to rid him of layers of excess skin.
Mr Mason said: 'She watched my documentary and thought "I want to help to find this chap help".'
'She didn't really think anything romantically to start with, she just wanted to help me find someone who will operate.
'I was a bit cautious to start with but as soon as I met her on Skype I felt at ease. We talked for four-and-a-half hours.
'I didn't know anything about her but we talked all about her life and how she wants to help me.'
'It wasn't until the second conversation that I realised there was more there than just friends.
'She felt the same and brought up the idea of us being boyfriend and girlfriend.'
Mr Mason says that he doesn't go for looks and finds Miss Mountain's determined attitude particularly attractive.
He said: 'I am more interested in the person rather than the physical side of things.
'We became really close friends and now we are boyfriend and girlfriend.
'She really wants to come over and see me and I am just desperate to meet her face-to-face, I am so excited.
'It is her personality, her drive and passion and she has a lovely smile that made me fall for her.
'Like me she is a very determined person, I really adore that quality in her.
'It was hard for me to accept to start with because part of me is still trapped in this loose skin and I find it hard to understand how anyone can see through that.
'We share the same ideas, interests, and outlook on life and she has made me look at life in a new way.
'I'm more determined than ever to get this operation and enjoy my life with her.
'For a long time I couldn't really see light at the end of the tunnel.
But since Rebecca's been in my life I've got a whole new sense of worth and excitement.'
Mr Mason ballooned to his incredible size by eating ten times the amount needed by a normal man due to a compulsive eating disorder.
He claimed his binge eating began in his 20s at the time of his father's death and a deterioration in his mother's health.
Mr Mason quit his job as a postman when his weight prevented him from completing his deliveries.
As his weight soared he was left unable to stand or walk before finally becoming bed-ridden and being looked after full time by council carers.
Firefighters had to demolish the front wall of his former home so they could drive a fork lift truck inside to lift him out and put him into an ambulance when he needed a hernia operation in 2002.
Mr Mason was later given a purpose-built housing association home with extra wide doorways so he could move around.
His care bill cost taxpayers an estimated £100,000 a year and is believed to have topped £1million.
At the height of his food addiction, he was gorging an entire packet of bacon, four sausages and four eggs complete with bread and hash browns for breakfast.
He would then eat quadruple portions of fish and chips along with two kebabs for lunch followed by a roast dinner, curries or pizza and more chips in the evening.
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