A dating site that exclusively caters to beautiful singles kicked out thousands of users for being too "ugly."
Owners of the aptly-named BeautifulPeople.com admitted to giving the boot to 3,000 members for "letting themselves go," the New York Daily News reported.
But the website's founders said they did so with a heavy heart.
"This may sound harsh, and it is the most difficult part of managing the business," said Genevieve Hodge, who founded the website with her husband Greg, according to the newspaper.
"We take no pleasure in removing members, but it is a necessary evil in order to maintain the beautiful community and our prized business model," she continued.
The Hodges launched BeautifulPeople.com in Denmark in 2002 and within a few years gained an international following of 800,000.
Unsurprisingly, access is limited, with newbies having to be voted in by other users if they are beautiful and "actually look in real life as they do online," the website reads.
So when some 3,000 members, mostly American, were determined to have gained weight or aged un-gracefully, they received an email saying they would be better off on a dating site for "ordinary people," the Daily News reported.
"Letting unattractive people populate the site would compromise the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded," Greg Hodge said.
But the good news is the rejects can rejoin the site in the future, as long as they come back "looking their best."
