This woman's company called her engagement photos 'inappropriate'—and fired her

An engaged couple’s hot photo shoot went viral last month after people praised the woman for embracing her plus-size body in the shots. Unfortunately, the shoot had an unexpected consequence.

Stephanie and Arynn, a couple from Overton, Texas, posed for a romantic photo shoot that celebrated body positivity, as well as the love they feel for each other. In the photos, the couple are topless by a body of water, kissing passionately.

Bria Terry of Wolf & Rose Photography, who shot the images, shared them on Facebook and received tens of thousands of reactions and thousands of comments from people who felt inspired by the beautiful couple.

“I honestly have never felt more attractive,” Stephanie, who prefers to be identified without her last name, told The Huffington Post about the shoot. “I was so nervous to see the final result. I didn’t know what to expect. But when I saw the album, I was shocked. I look so in love and confident. Every person should be able to see themselves in that light. It is really eye-opening.”

Stephanie also said she was not worried about how she looked in the photos. "I was just looking at Arryn and that made me feel confident," she told BuzzFeed. "He looks at me all the time, but the way he looked at me during the photo shoot, I could feel it was different because I could focus on him.”

Unfortunately, her joy and comfort may have been short-lived, as she announced late last week that her employer, Austin Bank Texas, was not a fan of the photos, and let her go because of them.

“They said I was topless, and it was inappropriate and we’re a family-oriented company,” Stephanie told BuzzFeed, adding that she actually was wearing a strapless top that you wear with a backless dress. “There was no defending myself, they had made their decision. I gave over a year to a company that I worked really hard for and then to have them turn on me for doing something so positive, something that I was so proud of — to help myself as a woman — it was hurtful. People were pulling out their phones at work and showing the pictures and that was blamed on me.” Stephanie is also expecting a child.

Texas employees, like Stephanie, are “at will” employers, per Texas law, which means that without a contract stating otherwise, the relationship between an employer and employee can be modified or terminated at any time, for any reason (or none at all). The bank did not reply to Women’s Health’s request for comment, but they had told Yahoo! that they did not comment on personnel matters.

“As a company, if they feel what I do outside of my job is going to jeopardize their business, that's fine,” Stephanie, who is expecting a baby boy, said. “It’s just disheartening to me because I feel like home life and work life are two totally different things. I was a model employee, I was moving up fast. I had a promotion within seven months. This one thing, for me, was the reason I was booted.”

Bria posted a response to the news on Facebook, writing, “I completely understand that it is perfectly within the company’s rights to terminate someone. Texas is an at will state, and legally her employer did nothing wrong, but I cannot help but wonder how a company who claims to uphold family values can morally terminate an otherwise model employee who is 20+ weeks pregnant with her first child. Their decision not only stripped her of her insurance which is without a doubt a major necessity while pregnant, but also her paid maternity leave.” While Bria told Yahoo! that Stephanie had landed a new job, she is still ineligible for paid maternity leave and health care.