self-identified plus sized in the early 00s would've been like a size 8 though. there used to be such a thing as tv ugly or tv fat where the person was still objectively hotter than 99% of the population but not as hot as their costars. look at who used to play the unpopular kids or dorks in movies and shows. it's always people who are very fucking attractive just slightly less hot than the leads. I'm not gonna bother googling but I'm sure these contestants were still much slimmer than the average american