Whitney Way Thore went through a lot during her time in “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” her show on TLC. After her dancing video went viral, the production company gave her a platform to prove that being overweight doesn’t always have a negative emotional and physical impact. However, after fans discovered her fun personality and saw her get into drama-filled and toxic relationships, the format switched to a reality TV show. Moreover, Whitney eventually shifted her focus to entrepreneurship with her business, No BS Active, which picked up speed in late 2020. However, there were some untold truths and interesting speculation over the years, and we’ve listed them.

Whitney wasn’t always overweight

While her life is anything but dull, and she does her best to empower women to be comfortable and confident in their bodies, Whitney used to be of average size and even skinny and athletic at times. However, her problems with polycystic ovarian syndrome  (or PCOS) began affecting her in her late teens. From being slim until she was 19, Whitney gained about 100lbs or 45kgs, then almost double that amount in college.

Even worse, she only got diagnosed at 23, and was the first time that she’d heard about the condition. Despite not dancing for almost a decade due to her weight gain, Whitney gained fame with her popular show on TLC between 2015 and 2023, showcasing her skills, tight-knit family, and a slew of toxic relationships. A new season may even uncover a secret that her father has hidden for over five decades.

Her show had a different name

Many new fans don’t know that Whitney Way Thore caught TLC’s attention by posting a video entitled “A Fat Girl Dancing”, to the YouTube channel of 107.5 KZL radio station, on 27 February 2014,  where she worked at the time. After several interviews with media outlets such as NBC, ABC, and Huffington News, the show TLC offered to film “Whitney: Fat Girl Dancing,” according to the BBC. However, the executives changed it to “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” when it premiered 10 episodes starting in January 2015.

Her family struggled to accept her weight

Although Whitney always emphasized that her parents and brother supported her decisions throughout her life, her sudden weight gain still shocked them to a degree. For a while, she felt ‘a bit of a disconnect,’ especially with her father, Glenn Thore. Despite telling him that she still felt confident and wanted to raise awareness that you can be healthy at any size, he said, ‘Whitney, I know you’re struggling, but you can’t change the world. You have to fit into society’s mold.’

However, after losing close to 50kgs or about 110lbs and regaining it, Whitney decided to be herself and focus on her health instead of weight. Her father agreed, but warned her that she would run into trouble being so decisive. However, he changed his mind in 2015, and told her that he was convinced of her ability to positively affect the world, which is a story that brings Whitney to tears whenever she tells it.

Her brother, Hunter, also distanced himself for a while, because he didn’t know how to interact with her, and she thought that he was embarrassed with her. However, like her father, he changed his tune at one point, and is now fully supportive of her.

Whitney and her brother love theatre

Many people don’t know that Whitney Way Thore has acting experience, which helped her land the position of an on-air producer for the radio show “Jared & Katie in the Morning” in her hometown. First, in 2000. she was accepted into the Governor’s School of North Carolina of Meredith College, and their Theatre Summer Enrichment Program. Two years later, she matriculated from Page High School in her hometown, then majored in Theatre at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. She later changed her majors to Communications and Public Relations, and  subsequently earned a Master’s in journalism.

Her brother Hunter, who fans sometimes call her twin since he’s only 10 months older, is theatrically inclined, too. He attended Terry Knickerbocker Studio, The William Esper Studio, and The Freeman Studio among others, to refine his acting skills. He then moved to New York City and planned to relocate to Atlanta, Georgia, to become a movie and TV actor. Unfortunately, he had to take a break when his mother, Babs, had a stroke on 28 December 2021, and instead spent time at home, and in his mother’s retirement community.

Luckily, his fans saw him on-screen in the ninth episode of the 13th season of the “Blue Bloods” series in January 2023, playing Wayne, a dog-stealing criminal with a beard and a mullet. That was his first co-star role, and he noted that his mother would have been proud of him, especially since he afterwards landed the lead role in a feature film. Moreover, Hunter appeared in TV shows such as “Skye of the Damned” and “Skeleton Crew” and said that as a young teen, performing with Kathleen Turner, a two-time Golden Globe Winner, sparked his passion for acting. Hunter is also a guitarist for the metal punk band, Plague of Jackals.

She’s lived in at least two more countries

Whitney spent most of her time in the US, and chose to stay close to family. However, following her college graduation, Whitney taught English to schoolchildren in South Korea for several years. Moreover, she revealed that she lived in Derry, the second-largest city in Northern Ireland, for a few months in 2005.

She is non-religious

Whitney was surprised that many of her fans assumed that she was Christian; consequently, she received several hateful messages for not ascribing to that religion. She stated that she’s non-religious but that she loves learning about all religions, and is particularly interested in Islam.

Whitney’s sexuality is flexible

Although Whitney dated and becamet engaged to men during the show, many fans forget that she admitted to kissing women in the past. Moreover, she’s candid about loving to be touched by men and women, and enjoying massages from both sexes. When asked about her sexuality, she defined it as “hetero-flexible,” The description became relevant once she announced that she’d opened her relationship with her French boyfriend in October 2022. She promptly went on a holiday to Saint Lucia, where she got close to her ex-boyfriend Lennie Alehat, sparking rumors of rekindling an old flame. Because she seemed excited about her newfound freedom, some fans thought that she might also experiment with women.

Whitney is an author

Whitney published her memoir and first book, entitled “I Do It with the Lights On And 10 More Discoveries on the Road to a Blissfully Shame-Free Life”; in it she discussed self-acceptance and promoted fighting fatphobia, discouraging overweight people from feeling ashamed of themselves to the point of ‘doing it with the lights off,’ among other things.

She may have kissed Buddy for fake drama

One ex-boyfriend who fans didn’t like seeing but couldn’t stop tuning in to watch, was Buddy Bell. He had been her friend since college, and they had an undefined relationship. While he has supported Whitney, she treated him poorly, and even called him fat, which some viewers saw as hypocritical and contrary to her message.

Many people do not realize that besides having a drug problem, specifically using cocaine, which was covered in the fourth season, Buddy has also been addicted to alcohol, and is a criminal. Fans discovered that he was arrested on 30 January 2014 for assaulting a government official, resisting a public officer, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct at the Memorial Auditorium venue during a Queens of the Stone Age concert.

While Whitney wasn’t responsible for his actions, and tried to help, fans were disappointed when she let him move in with her in 2015. That’s because she seemed to force him to air his dirty laundry in public for drama, despite him saying, ‘I’m just tired of looking like a loser in the f*cking show.’

Things went further; Whitney criticized him for mistreating his then-girlfriend, Heather, by drip-feeding his love to keep her hooked. Then, while he was apparently in a relationship during the fifth season, the first episode began with Whitney kissing him. While she said that she had good intentions, viewers thought that they’d fabricated a romance to increase the viewership’ moreover, her pushing to get into a relationship was because she was ‘feeling a vibe being with her “Boo Bear”, wassimply  manipulative. Buddy openly stated that he started going to the bar after breaking up with his then-girlfriend, Chelsea Roark. After he finally sobered-up, his friends and family advised him not to rush into a relationship, as he was still vulnerable, and Whitney knew that.

Whitney cut ties with a business partner

Whitney started rumors in October 2020 that she was moving or quitting her business, when she announced on Facebook that her business, No BS Active, a monthly subscription for fitness, dancing, and lifestyle content, was taking a one-month hiatus. While the moving part was genuine, she never said that she’d broke ties with her business partner.

Several things pointed to discord in their partnership, however. Only six days before Whitney announced her plans, Ryan Andreas teased that he was releasing a mobile fitness app. He released “Training Partners by Natalie & Ryan” with his mother, Natalie Betsko, on 5 October 2020, a day later. As if adding fuel to the flames, he uploaded a picture holding his friend’s newborn baby, Aurora, and said that he was a proud uncle. That wouldn’t be a problem if his friend weren’t Chase Severino, whom Whitney broke off her engagement with in May of that year! Moreover, his daughter was conceived behind Whitney’s back, which meant that Chase had cheated on her for some time, which he later admitted, adding that not living in the same city and slowly drifting apart caused it. Additionally, Ryan knew about it since Chase was his friend from college, but never told Whitney because he reportedly wanted to protect her from getting hurt.

A month later, in early November, Whitney indirectly confirmed that she’d ended things with Ryan when she introduced Jessica Powell as her new business partner, who long-time fans remember as her fitness trainer. Thus, the business restarted without fanfare, with tweaks to the fitness program, while rumors circulated that the two also went their separate ways after Whitney didn’t immediately congratulate Jessica on her engagement to Isaiah Martin on 11 July 2022. Luckily, nothing happened, since Whitney was merely unavailable as she vacationed in France, so they’re still partners.

Whitney ignores fatphobic comments

Her confidence to post workout videos from the gym, in a bikini or dressed, up surprises many viewers. However, she says that she regularly gets accused of being ‘too fat and not losing weight’ with her workouts, a mix of Olympic weightlifting, CrossFit, and No BS Active programs. She responded to that criticism with, ‘You can lose weight or you can not, but regardless exercise will benefit you in a million other ways.’

With that in mind, she was curious about the reaction when she implemented a new workout routine, and lost 50lbs, over 20kgs between late 2018 and mid-2019. After she found that people continued to berate her instead of celebrating her weight loss, she concluded that their comments were just fatphobic, and resolved not to read/listen to them.

She was accused of photoshopping her images

Another untold truth is that Whitney promised never to digitally alter her appearance outside of improving the photo quality. Thus, many angry viewers called her out for pictures she posted with her then-boyfriend, Chase Severino, in June 2019, in which filters allegedly made her look thinner. In response, she posted a screenshot of her camera roll, showing the unedited photo without filters, which looked identical save for the color hue and saturation. As additional proof of authenticity, a cleavage thumbnail picture was among other pictures of Chase and her family.

Additionally, she is honest about all procedures that she’s done, or does daily. For instance, she had lip fillers at Sōna Dermatology around July 2021, and reported being obsessed with them despite what people say. She also stated that she covers the bald spots from PCOS with Toppik hair fibers, has her eyebrows micro-bladed, dyes and plucks the grey hair strands, and sometimes metaphorically wears 10lbs of make-up.

She got a dog in 2020

Whitney is a proud cat owner, and has called herself “cat mama” for years, thus, viewers often see her three cats, Hench or Henchie, Ollie and Wanda. However, she surprised most people by getting a black poodle named Caniche in June 2020. Her loyal fans knew that Whitney had a history of dog ownership – her family had two dogs, and she had another dog after moving out of the family home. Another surprising fact is that Caniche means “poodle” in French, and she visited her French boyfriend in Paris almost exactly a year later. That may be a clue, or only her affection for the French language.

Whitney progressed a lot

Whitney has been forthcoming about her struggles with food and medical issues, and has come a long way in her journey to advocate for body positivity and self-acceptance. She admitted to having a food addiction that began in middle school, forcing her to try several diets to reduce her calorie intake. Moreover, she had bulimia, and confessed to ‘purging food’. Furthermore, Whitney is open about issues caused by PCOS, which makes her hair fall out, leaving bald spots, and is making her pregnancy nearly impossible. Nonetheless, she used medicine to recover, including controlling her weight. Additionally, she visited a fertility doctor in August 2021 to freeze her eggs, and learned that the number was twice as high as the average for women with her condition.

Although her conditions weren’t the primary cause, they contributed to the format shift from dancing to typical reality TV drama. Nonetheless, fans stuck by her, and TLC will likely greenlight a following season, especially if the news about a third sibling is trustworthy.

Her dad may have a secret child

While the focus has been on Whitney and her celebration of life, and it’s likely that season 11, if it airs, will focus on her relationship with Lennie and getting closer to her father after her mother’s passing on 7 December 2022, some rumors indicate that a new person will enter the family dynamic.

In 2022, an insider came out with rumors that Hunter and Whitney aren’t the only children of their father, Glenn Thore. They speculated that this would be the topic of season 10, since TLC briefly focused on Glenn’s ex-girlfriend, Keiko in 2018, but that Babs’ death interrupted those plans. Glenn even stated, ‘Babs seems to be a bit jealous of Keiko, and I’m not sure why because I’ve been hers for 40 years. She doesn’t even want to touch her.’ According to the insider, Glenn had a boy with Keiko while he was with the Marines in Japan, and he’s between 47 and 57 years old. Based on their information, Hunter and Whitney have only recently learned of his existence, and their shock would undoubtedly spice things up.

TV star Kody Brown has been in the news non-stop lately, after two of his four wives walked away from him, and he divorced the third. The famous polygamist is deep in the midst of a well-documented family feud, and things are looking nasty for him as it’s been reported that his ex-wives Meri, Christine and Janelle are looking for legal counsel to put him on spousal support.

Since joining the reality TV industry in 2010, Kody – and his family – have made a living out of allowing millions of fascinated viewers a peek into their unusual lifestyle, week after week. With over a dozen seasons of the TLC smash hit “Sister Wives” under his belt, Kody is pretty much a household name these days: but unfortunately for him, not all publicity is good publicity.

Following the failure of his spiritual marriages, Kody has been struggling to keep his public image intact, especially as his ex-wives rally around each other in a display of true sisterhood. It’s more important than ever for the three women to stick together, given that they all share several children with Kody; sadly, he’s often been filmed arguing with his oldest kids, especially when it comes to their opinion of his wife Robyn. For a long time, many of the family members felt that he put Robyn and her children above their needs, and in the end, Kody’s actions proved them right.

In season 16, Kody decided to uproot the family from Las Vegas to Arizona with little to no explanation. Having bought a plot of land on Coyote Pass in 2018, the patriarch and his wives spent the whole season figuring out how to split up the land in such a way that everyone was happy with the arrangement. Obviously, this was easier said than done, as some of the Browns wanted to move back to Utah.

At first, Kody’s intentions were to build a giant house on the land for everyone to live in. however, the wives wanted their own space and separate homes. The logical solution would’ve been to split the land – which cost a total of $820,000 – evenly between the five adults, leaving each one with 2.8 acres to do as they saw fit. In the end, Meri and Christine lived on the larger parcels while Janelle, Robyn, and Kody lived on the smaller ones.

The Coyote Pass situation became even more complicated when Christine confirmed her separation from the reality TV mogul in November 2021. Kody now had two options: buy her out, or sell her part and split the proceeds. It’s also important to note that none of them could build on the land until it was paid off in full. Nevertheless, Coyote Pass became the least of Kody’s problems, when Janelle walked away months after his separation from Christine.

In December 2022, Meri shockingly confessed that Kody had separated from her and made it clear that there would be no reconciliation. “Sister Wives” fans and followers of the family were stunned, as Kody previously implied that he couldn’t, or wouldn’t leave any of his wives, but they might do so. Since then, Kody has badmouthed his ex-wives in public on several occasions, whereas Robyn is preferring to stay out of the drama.

If Kody’s ex-wives really were to put him on spousal support, it would spell disaster for him and Robyn. In happier times, Meri and Janelle were the primary breadwinners of the family, whereas Christine had the difficult task of raising Kody’s joint huge brood of children. It soon became noticeable that Kody and Robyn were depending on the other wives’ goodwill to lead comfortable lifestyles, and since Meri, Janelle and Christine have gone, the remaining Browns are feeling the pinch.

Robyn joined the family in 2010, and entered the Brown family unit with three children from her previous relationship. In 2014, Kody divorced his legal wife Meri, after three decades of union, in order to marry Robyn and legally adopt her children. Suddenly, Meri was demoted from her matriarchal position and Robyn took her spot as the only wife with guaranteed legal rights if something were to happen to Kody, or if he wished to divorce her. Unfortunately for Robyn, this is a double-edged sword, as she is now also liable for any spousal support or similar payments that Kody might have to make in the future.

Fans of “Sister Wives” took an immediate disliking to Robyn almost as soon as she joined the Browns, giving her the nickname of “Sobbin’ Robyn” because she often cried when things didn’t go her way, or when she was called out by other members of the family. She was heavily criticized for hiring a nanny for her children, given that Kody already spent almost all his time with them, while ignoring his other sons and daughters. Furthermore, Robyn’s credit card debt had been generously paid off by Meri and Janelle, so that she could qualify for a home loan.

Viewers of the series are hoping that Meri, Janelle and Christine make life difficult for Kody and Robyn, but as all parties involved have already filmed the 18^th season of “Sister Wives”, it doesn’t seem that likely. With that said, there have often been rumors of bad blood between Janelle and Kody, especially since he argued with their two eldest sons, Gabriel and Garrison, over their attitude towards Robyn. This, allegedly, was the tipping point in Janelle and Kody’s disastrous spiritual marriage, as she walked away just a few months later.

Christine and Kody have also argued on- and off-screen over the years, with Kody sensationally claiming that he wasn’t attracted to her even on their wedding day. Meanwhile, the situation between Kody and Meri is much vaguer, but the former couple have also had more than their fair share of ups and downs in the last three decades, and counting.

One of Kody’s many sons recently confirmed that season 18 of “Sister Wives” will air in late 2023, having been filmed in late 2022, meaning that the newest episodes will probably focus on the Browns’ everchanging family dynamics. We’ll possibly find out what’s going to happen to Coyote Pass, and whether or not Christine, Janelle and Meri plan to sue Kody. Make sure to stay tuned!

Krista and Tatiana Hogan, conjoined twins from British Columbia, Canada, gained much more prominence after the CBC documentary, “Inseparable: Ten Years Joined At The Head,” covered their story in 2017. The cameras captured a year in their life around their 10th birthday and how their family, at the time consisting of parents, grandparents, three siblings, and a dog named Yuna, helped them live a fulfilling life. Here’s what makes the twins distinctive, and how they handled the media spotlight.

Tatiana and Krista are unique

The conjoined twins, or Siamese twins, are joined in utero, and the phenomenon is still not fully explained. The Canadian girls were a rarity through birth alone; about half of the twins with this birth disorder are stillborn, and roughly a third of those who survive die within 24 hours. Moreover, Tatiana and Crista are craniopagus twins, meaning that they are joined at the head, which only happens to one of 2.5 million twins. However, their brain structure makes them the only such twins in Canada and perhaps the world. They can do things that still confuse neurologists, including reading each other’s thoughts, seeing out of each other’s eyes, and sharing some senses. However, they’ve had several medical issues and underwent physical therapy in the show. Besides a reduced quality of life, they will likely have a shorter lifespan.

Other networks covered their story before CBC

Most people don’t realize that Tatiana and Krista agreed to share their unique experience with the world long before the CBC documentary. They were featured in the Vancouver Sun segment in 2013, and The New York Sun interviewed them a year earlier. ABC media network was one of the first media networks to bring light to their unique lifestyle and medical mystery in June 2010.

All investigations agree on one thing; the sisters have different personalities and are full of life seemingly despite unsurmountable odds of surviving childhood and living a normal life.

Besides different characters, they had distinct body weights from birth on 25 October 2006. Krista was always a bit bigger, quieter, quirkier, and loved telling jokes, while Tatiana was hyperactive, chatty, loud and outgoing. Kristi’s funny side came out at the documentary’s beginning since she jokingly said that she doesn’t like being stuck to her sister because ‘she’s annoying.’ In contrast, their mom called Tatiana ‘a little bully.’ She spoke from experience; the girls have three siblings, a younger sister Shaylee, an older sister Rosa, and an older brother Cristopher “Toad” Hogan.

They are a medical miracle

Doctors who conducted a CT scan of their heads when they were a year and a half old have concluded that they could never separate them because of how their heads are fused. They learned that the girls didn’t have two joined skulls; instead, they had one skull or cranium with four brain hemispheres inside. With that information in mind, trying a separation operation would put them at risk of infection, severe injury, and quite possibly death.

However, the scan also showed that the twins’ connection is unique; they have a bridge that connects their thalami, a gray matter shaped like an egg that controls sensory input and the brain’s motor functions. Because theirs are linked, the sensory input and blood go back and forth, like they are using a switchboard. Therefore, the twins share the senses of taste and touch, and Krista can see out of one of Tatiana’s eyes while Tatiana can see out of both of Krista’s.

Moreover, they can control each other’s limbs besides self-control; Krista can move three legs and an arm, while Tatiana can control a leg and three arms. Finally, they learned that Tatiana’s heart was working harder and supplying some of its blood to Krista’s brain, which made Krista’s blood pressure higher. Doctors plan to solve this by jumpstarting Krista’s heart to adjust its rhythm, and make it pick up the pace. Yet, their most amazing ability, at least to outsiders, is knowing each other’s thoughts without speaking, which they call ‘talking in their heads.’

Krista and Tatiana don’t let the medical issues stop them

Although it’s uncertain if being conjoined had an effect, the twins have epilepsy and type 1 diabetes. They are on a strict medication regimen, most undergo blood tests to manage their sugar, and require daily insulin injections, and thus often travel to the British Columbia Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. That was a hit for their finances because the girls live in Vernon, British Columbia, with mom Felicia Simms, dad Brendan Hogan, grandparents Louise ad Doug McKay, and some aunts and uncles.

Despite all the physical problems, the twins travel to school, ride a customized bicycle, and swim. During winter, the twins go down hills on toboggans, and have tried cross-country skiing.

They are pursuing education

Krista and Tatiana had a slightly delayed education path due to their unique situation. They delayed starting kindergarten at Okanagan Landing Elementary to fly to Manhattan and appear on Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show, “Anderson.” Their mother said that most children around their age were curious, and some befriended them. However, a few parents were uncomfortable seeing them, and forbade their children to play with them, which Felicia openly criticized, prompting her to ensure that her children never shun anyone for being different.

Although their unique congenital disorder slowed their academic progress, the documentary showed that they started attending regular school. The twins spent a few hours per day in Grade 6 as of September 2017, learning to write, read, and do basic arithmetic.

Twins live their lives away from the public

Sadly, the CBC documentary was the last public update from the twins, and that was seemingly intentional. Chuck Harris, a Hollywood agent, is the only reason they became well-known for several years. He signed the twins for all the media appearances in the late 2000s and early 2010s because he ‘wanted to get a reality show for them so badly, to make big money. For them, anything over $1,000 is big money.’

He explained that the family had fourteen members in one household in 2011. Their mom, known for being protective, agreed to Chuck’s proposal, and told him, ‘We can do interviews and documentaries. Just get the word out. I want people to understand that’s just what they are—they’re just little girls.’

Chuck also represented George and Lori Schappel, the oldest living conjoined twins in the world as of 2022, according to the Guinness World Records notes. He also wanted to find their mom a job, giving parenting lectures and speculated that she could earn CAD$5,000 to $15,000 an hour, talking about ‘how she’s raising the girls, not hiding them, and doesn’t see their condition as a handicap.’

Krista and Tatiana contributed to science

Viewers saw the conjoined twins’ daily life, including all their struggles, which was captivating. However, their media appearances had a real impact on science and medicine. Their mother always knew that her daughters might not reach the average lifespan; the doctors told her that they had a 20% chance of survival at birth and that the danger was not over in the first 24 hours. Upon turning 10 in the documentary, their mother explained, ‘For them to actually be here for 10 years is just a blessing. It just felt so good to see them get to this milestone.’

However, the documentary also showed how amazed their pediatric neurologist, Dr. Juliette Hukin was, and how much she learned from their unique brainstem connection. Neurosurgeons and other medical professionals they met had a similar reaction.

Ultimately, their mother never wanted fame or preferential treatment for them. At the end of the episode, she said, ‘They’re just little people living their lives like the rest of us. That’s how we see them, and that’s how their siblings see them.’

Moreover, Tatiana and Krista have inspired clinical research. Their case has been cited in many clinical studies, for example, “Craniopagus: Overview and the Implications of Sharing a Brain” by Jordan Squair at the University of British Columbia’s Undergraduate Journal of Psychology in 2012.