AFL couple Toby and Chloe Pink want things to change after online trolls attacked wedding photos

North Melbourne defender Toby Pink and wife Chloe have been applauded for their decision to reclaim their wedding and re-shoot their wedding photos.

Toby and Chloe (childhood sweethearts) married in April this year, but the special day was overshadowed by body shamers as photos from their cosy courthouse ceremony were met with vicious online trolling.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: AFL couple retake wedding photos for heartbreaking reason.

Refusing to let cruelty define their story, Chloe and Toby made a bold choice to re-shoot their wedding pictures at the end of October, helping them celebrate all over again on their own terms.

The couple joined Channel 7’s The Morning Show on Thursday morning, and have explained exactly what happened.

“We had an amazing day. Very euphoric, full of love and very intimate, so, very special,” Chloe said.

But the special feeling soon soured following an article that appeared in a major newspaper.

“So there was a beautiful article done (about the wedding) and written, and then obviously shared in the newspaper and as well as online,” Chloe told The Morning Show.

“From there, obviously, naively, I expected congratulations and excitement because we just got married.

“Unfortunately, I received online trolling, like mass trolling comments about the way that I looked. Not even about the way that I looked, about my body shape.

“And so, what was meant to be that post-wedding bliss was unfortunately filled with so much negativity. So, yeah, unfortunately, a lot of online trolling.”

TMS host Kylie Gillies said she was “so sorry that people were so horrible” but hoped the couple “did feel love as well”.

“I’m sure that came through a little bit,” Gillies said.

Gillies then asked Toby what he thought when he saw his wife “being attacked publicly”.

“No, it’s not (good). It was very sad,” Toby said.

“And to see Chloe go through that was very sad as well.

“But I’m extremely proud of her, what she’s been able to do to stand up for not only herself, but for others as well.”

Chloe said she was on the KICPOD podcast and it was host Steph Claire Smith who suggested retaking the wedding photos.

“I was on the KICPOD and I was just explaining how when I look at our original wedding photos — and they’re beautiful, not because they weren’t perfect — I look at them and I associate them, unfortunately, with a negative comment or an online article.

“There’s no real attachment left to those photos anymore.

“And so I was mentioning that to them and then Steph reached out and she said, if you feel comfortable, I’d really love to organise for you to redo those photos so you can do what you want with those photos and recreate memories.

“And it was the best thing, so nice of her and the best thing that we could have done.”

This time, however, the couple released just the one photo from the new shoot, deciding to keep the others private to make sure they are never spoiled.

Toby said he was thrilled they were now able to have the new photos all themselves and they were personal and private.

“I was very fortunate to be able to get dressed up again and see Chloe in her dress,” he said.

“And it was very special. But, yeah, we’ll keep the photos to ourselves and cherish them.”

Asked if it was hard to get back in the tuxedo again, Toby said he didn’t mind.

“For me, it’s quite easy, but I’m sure Chloe would have had a full schedule. It would have been harder,” he said.

The couple were praised for being honest and open about the impact of trolling but Chloe had strong thoughts on what could be changed to better protect people from online abuse?

“I think there’s a few things (to change). The first one is I think we need to have identities to social media accounts,” she said.

“I believe that one person should be allowed to have one account and you need to identify yourself on that account.

“And then you can have your business accounts but once again, you need to identify that that is associated with a person.

“I think we’re allowed to have too many fake accounts. So I think that’s probably a big issue in itself.

“But I think it’s also the trolls issue. Like, it’s not an us issue. I think if you’re trolling online, that’s a really big issue within yourself.

“And I feel really sorry for you. You must be really insecure. And I think you need to deeply reflect on why you do that and what that brings to you and work within yourself and try and resolve those issues rather than project them onto people like me.”

When Chloe shared her new wedding photo online she said: “Before you comment, please remember - this is our wedding, our photos, and we’re happy. That’s all that matters. I don’t need your opinion on my body, and if you feel the urge to share it, please just scroll on.”