Women Joined 'Pearadise' Body-Positivity Community. Some Say Pressure to Gain Weight Endangered Their Health
Women Joined 'Pearadise' Body-Positivity Community. Some Say Pressure to Gain Weight Endangered Their Health
Liam QuinnWed, June 10, 2026 at 10:07 PM UTC
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Credit: Investigation Discovery -
A new docuseries tells the story of "Pearadise," a group said to promote body positivity
Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Pearadise details explosive allegations surrounding the group, which gained a large social media following
The docuseries premieres Wednesday, June 10 on ID
Stefan Wilhelmy says he started "Pearadise" as a community determined to promote body positivity for plus-sized women. But some women previously involved with the group claim his intentions were far more sinister.
The story of the community is the focus of an upcoming multi-part docuseries on ID, Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Pearadise, which airs Wednesday, June 10 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
"In 2020, a social media-driven community known as "Pearadise" began gaining attention online, positioning itself as a space dedicated to sisterhood and body positivity for plus-size women," a press release from ID said. "Based out of a Las Vegas mansion and amplified through a growing digital presence, the collective quickly attracted a devoted following — at one point, it grew to nearly 250,000 followers on TikTok alone."
"Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Paradise"Credit: Investigation Discovery
The group was based out of Wilhelmy's home in Las Vegas, where he invited several women.
Wilhelmy, as well as multiple women who were part of the community at one point, were interviewed for Big Girls Wanted, which explores allegations of coercion and claims that participants were encouraged to gain weight at the expense of their health.
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In a clip from the docuseries shared with PEOPLE, Wilhelmy says he always intended for the community to be empowering.
"My whole intention with 'Pearadise' was just to bring positivity," Wilhelmy says. "I can confidently say that the effect that it has had on so many people is priceless."
But not everyone who was part of the community agrees.
Per the press release, "the docuseries provides context around how a highly visible, body positive collective became the subject of growing scrutiny and spiraled into a complicated web of dark allegations."
ID's Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Pearadise premieres Wednesday, June 10, from 8-11PM ET/PT on ID and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
