1000-Lb Sisters has greatly grown to become a beloved reality television series over time with inspiring personas such as Tammy and Amy Slaton . The show is primarily centered around the Slaton sisters who were grappling with obesity. Furthermore, it also exhibited the motivating journey of their weight loss surgeries. Since switching to a healthier lifestyle, they appear to be on track for losing more weight and are making impressive progress. Nevertheless, the show did introduce one more character who is unfortunately no longer with us: Caleb Willingham. Here’s more about him as per Hollywood Life :
Who Was Caleb Willingham?
Willingham was introduced to the show in some of the previous seasons of the show and was last featured in an episode in December 2023. Willingham was Tammy’s late husband and was affirmatively smitten by her. The couple first met at The Windsor Lane Health Care and Rehabilitation Center located in Gibsonburg, Ohio. Both dealt with serious cases of food addiction and fought a hard battle to tackle it. The couple were known to be lovestruck with each other while in the facility. And in just three short weeks of knowing each other, he popped the question back in October 2022.
An episode of the show saw the happy couple gush about each other while looking forward to a lifetime of memories. In a confessional, Tammy remarked: “We’re engaged!! I know it’s only been three weeks but I’ve never felt this way about anybody.” Willingham continued to share her enthusiasm about the future : “We’re gonna get married, we’re gonna have a couple of kids, hopefully. Life’s gonna be great.” The two shared a sweet kiss before the episode progressed further.
Slaton and Willingham got married on November 19, 2022, among 30 of their inner circle friends and immediate family. The couple got hitched in the very same special spot where they first saw each other: The Rehab Center. Slaton beamed with elation as she donned an iconic wedding dress while walking down the aisle to exchange her vows.
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In an episode of the show that aired in March 2023, Slaton confessed: “When I saw Caleb at the altar, I was just picturing doves and butterflies all around like God had opened up the clouds and let the sunlight in…It was magical.” Likewise, even Willingham was dumbfounded on seeing his forever love walking towards him. He said emotionally: “When I finally see her, my heart explodes.” Sadly, their love story never reached a happy ending.
Willingham’s Sad Demise
Fans were left ashen on learning of the unfortunate passing of Slaton’s late husband Willingham back in July 2023 due to unknown causes. She took to Instagram to share a carousel of precious memories from her time with her beloved late husband. She emphasized the deep void left behind from a fallen lover , and added a note of gratitude for showing her “real love and happiness.” Another statement released by TLC echoed Slaton’s announcement: We are deeply saddened to learn of Caleb Willingham’s passing. Our condolences go out to Tammy, his family, and friends at this difficult time.”
Previously, the late reality star appeared to be struggling on his journey of losing weight which deeply concerned his wife at the time. Back then, Slaton was released from rehab after attaining her ideal weight for surgery with Willingham still at the center. This left him in a rather emotionally unstable situation as he dearly missed his wife. Additionally, it made him unable to get to his ideal weight of 500 Lbs to get his weight loss surgery done. In the episode, he said: “In my head and in my heart, I know that I should be below 500. It’s all lack of discipline on my part.”
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Things went quickly downhill after that despite Willingham vowing to fight to be reunited with his wife at the time. In an interview with People , Slaton narrated the time she found out about his tragic passing. She revealed: “I got a text message from his friend up there and the text said, ‘Caleb’s not doing good. They’re in there working on him.’” She emotionally added: “20 minutes later, he texted me back and said he was gone.”
In the 6 months of their married life, things weren’t as rosy because the couple did deal with talks of divorce. However, whether or not they officially separated remains unconfirmed. Nonetheless, Willingham will continue to thrive in the hearts of every fan of the show, especially Slaton’s for eons to come.