*Latonya Pottain, whose battle with extreme obesity was chronicled on Season 11 of TLC’s “My 600‑Lb. Life,” has died in Shreveport, Louisiana.
As NBC News reports, the Natchitoches Parish Coroner’s Office confirmed that Pottain passed away on May 17 at Christus Highland Medical Center. She was 40. A preliminary report lists her cause of death as acute on chronic congestive heart failure, and her death has been classified as natural, while a full autopsy is still pending.
According to Pottain’s brother, family members stopped by her home on Saturday morning and saw that she was struggling to breathe and appeared visibly unwell, per TMZ. She expressed feeling very uncomfortable. Later, the family was contacted by a nurse who informed them that Pottain had called for an ambulance due to cardiac arrest, which ultimately resulted in her passing.
Pottain joined “My 600‑Lb. Life” after years of struggling to lose weight on her own. She told viewers that, after losing her mother at a young age and seeing her father leave the family, she “turned to food for comfort.” When filming began, she weighed 531 pounds and ultimately reached 505 pounds under the program’s supervision.
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Her health declined sharply in the months that followed. In February, friends launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover medical costs. In the appeal, Pottain wrote, “I’m currently getting close to my highest weight of 740 pounds and I worked extremely hard to get it down. Now I currently weigh about 705 pounds and have been bedridden since June 2024 due to severe health issues.”
She revealed that the backlash she faced after the show aired plunged her into depression: “However, after the show aired, I experienced overwhelming backlash, which sent me into a deep depression. My mental health suffered, and I became fearful of undergoing weight loss surgery.”
Pottain later developed crippling sciatica and severe stomach cramps. “Now, I am completely bedridden and unable to get to the hospital because EMTs say transporting me would be a fire hazard due to my weight,” she explained. “Without the ability to work, I have no income to purchase a car or arrange for special medical transportation.”
Despite those obstacles, Pottain told supporters, “This has been an incredibly difficult journey, and I truly want to fight for my health and my life.”
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
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