When it comes to love, does size matter?
That’s the question at the heart of “Hot & Heavy,” a controversial new reality show exploring “mixed-weight relationships” on TLC premiering Jan. 7. The series follows three couples — all plus-size women and traditional-size men — and struggles they face, from weight-related health issues to hurtful comments from strangers.
“I love Kristin’s size,” says husband Rusty Keadle in the show’s trailer.
“I wouldn’t mind if she was a little bit bigger,” he adds, commenting on his wife’s 300-plus-pound frame.
The clip quickly drew backlash online, with many commenting that the show is sexist for only focusing on larger women and not larger men. “Of course, only the women are heavier. Let’s retitle, ‘How Can Men Possibly Love Fat Women?’” wrote one Twitter user.
Others find the show exploitative of obese people.
However, the show’s participants say that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I don’t feel exploited at all,” Rusty’s wife, Kristin Keadle, tells The Post. “I feel empowered, I feel like I have a voice now in this world.”
Co-star Adrianna Harris, who weighs over 400 pounds, says that larger women are too often ignored by society. “You see it in the media all the time — larger men who are with typically attractive women . . . You see it on sitcoms and in cartoons like ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Family Guy,’ ” she tells The Post. “Where do you see couples that are like us with a larger woman? It’s really underrepresented.”
Rusty, a commercial air-conditioning contractor, tells The Post that he and Kristin decided to do the show “to bring normalcy to this type of relationship. It’s not really any different [from others],” he says.
“We are a normal couple. We have normal everyday lives, normal everyday struggles just like everybody else. But a lot of people don’t see us as a normal couple,” says Kristin.
Rusty, 40, and Kristin, 36, met in October 2015 while waiting on line at the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride at Disney World. It was love at first sight. They got married in 2017 and now live in Orlando, Fla.
“What originally drew me was, of course, her looks. After just a little conversation, she was as beautiful inside as she was out,” says Rusty of their first interaction.
Kristin’s family was suspicious of his intentions — especially because, at the time, Kristin was the owner of a successful bridal salon in New York.
“One of my brothers made a comment to Rusty: ‘Why do you like my sister? What brings you to her?’ and he couldn’t get past that Rusty had, like, a fetish [about my size] or ill intentions toward my income,” she says.
Although her family has since come around to welcome their relationship, Kristin found these preconceived notions “very frustrating.”
“It almost makes it feel as if they don’t value you because of your weight, they don’t think you’re worthy to have this great thing because of your size,” she says.
‘It almost makes it feel as if they don’t value you because of your weight.’
Like all relationships, Rusty and Kristin have had their ups and downs — although not all of them are issues that smaller people necessarily face.
“I am over 300 pounds,” says Kristin, explaining that her heft has contributed to her infertility. “My hormones and my ability to ovulate are very much affected by my weight,” she says.
Doctors have recommended that in order to have a baby, Kristin should undergo gastric bypass surgery, something that worries Rusty. Their storyline on the show focuses on this decision.
But his wife’s size — and inability to conceive — isn’t a deal-breaker for Rusty. “Every relationship that works has these give and takes,” he says.
Harris and her boyfriend, Ricardo Thompson, feel the same way.
The Newfoundland, Canada-based, couple met on Instagram after Thompson left flirty comments on Harris’ photos. They started talking, and after seven months he flew across the country to meet her in person. Head over heels, Thompson decided to move near Harris after only a month, and two weeks later she got pregnant by surprise. They’re now parents to Eli, a 1½ -year-old.
“My weight didn’t really shock anybody — it was mostly just the getting pregnant in two weeks that had everyone freaking out,” she says.
Still, Harris struggled with trusting Thompson. Her past relationships “made me feel insecure — it always led back to my size,” she says. “When me and Ricardo started dating, I was really uncomfortable. I couldn’t even get dressed in front of him.”
Sensing that her walls were up, Thompson laid it all out for Harris one night while lying in bed. “I think of you this way, I love you this much,” he told her. That conversation changed everything for them and propelled their relationship forward.
Although Harris’ weight is no longer an issue in their relationship, outsiders always feel the need to comment on it. In one “Hot & Heavy” scene, a stranger in a car yells at Harris as she eats ice cream: “Lay off the ice cream, you cow!”
The couple takes the comments in stride. “It’s hard to deal with the judgment, but I don’t think it affects us personally anymore,” she says.
Together, they’ve become stronger than ever.
“After being in a relationship [with Ricardo], I see that I do deserve to be loved for who I am as a person, and I do deserve to be the hot one,” says Harris.
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
“Hot & Heavy” premieres Jan. 7 at 10 p.m. on TLC. The first three episodes are available to stream online now with a cable provider password.