A woman has publicly shamed her boyfriend who accused her of having a 'beer gut' in a series of cruel text messages.

Shelby Johnson, from Clackamas, Oregon, asked her Twitter followers for advice after her partner told her she had 'been gaining' and needed to lose weight - despite her weighing a healthy 120 lbs (8 stone 8 lbs).

He said he feared he would become less attracted to her, writing: 'You're definitely getting a beer gut babe'.

The now ex-boyfriend, who she did not name, said that she no longer looked like her Instagram pictures, adding: 'The main issue is your gut might stick out more than mine, and that's weird.'

Support: Shelby asked her Twitter followers for advice after her partner told her she had 'been gaining' and needed to lose weight - despite her weighing a healthy 120 lbs (8 stone 8 lbs)

Shelby's post was retweeted thousands of times and received a flurry of responses from Twitter users urging her to break up with her boyfriend

Shelby shared screen shots of their exchange on Twitter, asking friends: 'Am I overreacting for feeling hurt by this? I'm at a loss and just can't even comprehend how someone who claims to love me can say this.'

She told her followers she had battled with body image issues throughout her teens, once weighing between 80 lbs (5 stone 10 lbs) and 90 lbs (6 stone 6 lbs) and leaving her doctors baffled as she struggled to gain weight.

Shelby added: 'At 20, I started gaining. When I did, I never felt happier and more healthy. I worked hard for this body. I am 120 pounds of pure growth.'

She then shared a series of mirror selfies showing her fluctuating body weight over the years.

Brave: Shelby told her followers she had battled with body image issues throughout her teens, once weighing between 80 lbs (5 stone 10 lbs) and 90 lbs (6 stone 6 lbs)

She later wrote: 'At 20, I started gaining. When I did, I never felt happier and more healthy. I worked hard for this body. I am 120 pounds of pure growth'

Her post was retweeted thousands of times and received a flurry of replies from strangers urging her to break up with her boyfriend.

And just hours later, Shelby updated her followers explaining that she had decided to 'end things and move on' with the help of her therapist - adding that the online support had been 'amazing'.

The following day she added: 'I want to update you guys that we are broken up. He was really unhappy and felt like s***, especially after knowing my tweet went viral.

'He has told me he'll use this as a learning experience to be a better person. And here I am, single and free.'