Twin sisters Mary and Ruth were completely identical until they were 11 years-old. That’s when Mary started gaining weight, and by the time she was an adult, she weighed 420 pounds while Ruth weighed only 120.

The girls’ mother always called Ruth “the pretty one,” which left Mary devastated.

In 2005, when they were 34 years-old, Mary and Ruth appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to share their story.

“She was the perfect twin, and I wasn’t,” Mary said. During their appearance on the show, a clip was shown of Mary breaking a chair at Ruth’s beauty salon. Mary said that the incident was “disgusting,” adding, “it made me feel ashamed.”

Ruth was impacted by Mary’s eating addiction as well, as she suffered from anorexia and bulimia for decades, terrified that she would gain weight like her sister.

“I have gone through many battles of anorexia and bulimia because I didn’t want to look like her,” Ruth said. “And it’s not because I’m ashamed of her to that point. I mean, I love her. She’s my sister.”

Mary’s 13 year-old son Chris said that he was afraid his mother would die due to her eating addiction.

“My mom eats a lot and it makes me feel really mad at her… because she can take control of what she puts in her mouth and what she eats,” Chris said.

“I’ve always wanted to say to my mom, ‘Just stop eating, because if you keep on going, you can die,” Chris continued. “And I don’t want you to die, because you’re my mom.’ I’ve never told her that.”

When Oprah caught up with the twins six years later, she found that their lives had drastically changed. Chris sadly died in a car accident in 2011 at the age of 19, sending Mary into a deep depression.

“I sat a year and a half on the side of my bed, just trying to figure it out,” Mary said.

The tragedy is what finally motivated Mary to get her eating addiction under control.

“Now it’s time to do what he wanted me to do,” Mary said.

Mary has since lost an astounding 124 pounds.

“First time I got on a treadmill I was on I think thirty seconds, I couldn’t even breathe,” Mary said. “And now I’m up to thirty minutes, so it’s such a big accomplishment.”

“I’m so proud of her. I want her to finally live her life and do what she’s always wanted to do,” Ruth said of her sister.

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