Michelle's emotional farewell
MICHELLE Cortesao's emotions got the better of her and sent her packing from The Biggest Loser tonight.
The 24-year-old's continuing struggle with binge eating put her in a precarious position going into tonight's weigh-in.
It has been a week of ups and downs for the Melbourne native.
Thanks to the generosity of challenge winner Margie Cummins, Cortesao was allowed to go home for her mum's 55th birthday.
Her boyfriend, and fellow Biggest Loser contestant, Hamish Elliott even drove 13 hours to see her.
"I just called him in the taxi to let him know the whole situation and I got a phone call back saying 'I'm on my way' and I said 'where?' and he said 'I'm in the car driving'," she said.
"I was surprised by that. It was very sweet."
The time with loved ones motivated her to work hard to burn off the extra calories she had consumed during her binge but her efforts were not enough to save her from falling below the yellow line.
"I already knew I was going to have a bad week," she said.
Cortesao's 700-gram weight loss saw her facing elimination with Cummins, who had lost 2kg.
The contestants were clearly divided on who should go, and who was the biggest threat.
The hung vote resulted in Cortesao being sent home because she lost the least amount of weight.
Back at home in Melbourne, she has found a lot of support in her large, close-knit family.
"They're very considerate of what I can and can't eat," she said.
"My dad even knows how many grams of chicken I'm allowed to have. I'll come home and he'll have it ready for me."
As far as her romance with Elliott, Cortesao said the love birds are focusing on their weight loss in the lead up to the series finale.
"It is a toss up - do I go there or does he come here? It's a decision we'll have to make after finale when everything is over and done with," she said.
The Biggest Loser airs Mondays to Wednesdays at 7pm and Sundays at 6.30pm on Ten.
