Where Zsalynn Whitworth From My 600-Lb Life Is Now

The popular TLC series "My 600-lb Life" has given many people the opportunity to change their lives. The show follows morbidly obese patients as they work with acclaimed bariatric surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, aka Dr. Now. Once they've proven they can do the work and maintain a healthier lifestyle, he gives them life-changing gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy surgery to help them on their way.

One of the earlier success stories (and not all of them are successful) comes from Season 2 cast-member Zsalynn Whitworth. When her 2014 episode aired, she weighed 694 pounds. She had earned money as a model on adult websites, and her husband, Gareth, seemed to be a fan of those sites. And of her size. He was totally unsupportive of Zsalynn's desire to lose weight. In fact, on her episode, she admitted that "[Gareth] has no idea how close to death I feel every day." Instead of encouraging her health and supporting her weight loss, he was controlling, encouraging her to eat badly and gain more weight to satisfy his "needs ... that requires me to be bigger than, you know, just fat," as she said on-screen. He once told Zsalynn, per In Touch, that he would not buy her a salad, and that "if you want to eat grass, you can go in the garden and graze." Classy.

Fortunately, Zsalynn got a lot better. Keep reading for the full story.

Like other "My 600-lb Life" castmates, Zsalynn Whitworth said in her "Where Are They Now" episode, "food was my coping mechanism." And she relied on it when things got tough. Zsalynn was able to qualify for Dr. Now's program and received gastric bypass surgery, eventually losing 316 pounds. That weight loss made her eligible for skin removal surgery, per Starcasm, and though she was worried about the surgery, she did go through with it, and lost another 52 pounds of skin. Her total weight loss was 378 pounds. She also shed the weight of her problematic husband, Gareth, when they finally got a divorce (can we say thank goodness?).

But Zsalynn still had challenges ahead of her. She struggled with depression when she had to share custody of her daughter Hannah, per Daily Mail. She felt lonely when Hannah was not around, and it was difficult not to give in to sweets and unhealthy foods as a way of dealing with the depression.

Fortunately, with help from a therapist, Zsalynn has continued her journey, while also remaining an ambassador for body positivity, and she appears much happier now. She loves dogs, and shares photos of them as well as her daughter Hannah on her social media accounts, from Twitter and Facebook to Instagram to TikTok. She has even found a new love. She has a compassionate new partner named Jack Lapp, and they look like a wonderfully supportive team.