What is “1000-lb Sisters”?
“1000-lb Sisters” is a TLC reality show documenting the lives and weight loss journeys of Amy Slaton-Halterman and Tammy Slaton. The series premiered in January 2020, with other cast members including Amy’s husband, Michael Halterman; their dog, Little Bit; and other Slaton family members such as Misty, Amanda and Chris.
Amy and Tammy’s brother Chris was also inspired to lose weight while in the series, and joined his sisters, often accompanying Tammy on her doctor’s visits. Gage Deon Halterman, Amy and Michael’s son, also features in a few episodes; the pregnancy was first announced in the season two premiere when Amy was rushed to the emergency room and given the news.
In season one, Amy, Tammy, and Michael lived together in the sleepy Kentucky town of Dixon. Amy was in charge of cooking dinner, and would almost always prepare unhealthy food. Unsurprisingly, the sisters suffered from various health conditions such as diabetes, and prior to filming, Tammy had already been put on life support two times.
Although the sisters soon became the fodder of humorous internet memes, due to their physical appearance, they soon won over thousands of fans with their endearing personalities. Tammy revealed that she and Amy were raised by their grandmother, as their mother Darlene was busy working three jobs to make ends meet. When their grandmother died, the sisters’ whole world changed, and they were virtually left to look after themselves. This, according to Tammy, is when their unhealthy diets began. The Slaton sisters agreed to having their own show, as they believed it would motivate them during their grueling weight loss journey.
Tammy Slaton
Tammy’s mission on the show was to lose enough weight to qualify for bariatric surgery, an operation that helps the patient lose weight by adjusting the intestinal hormone levels. Although Amy underwent the operation, time passed and Tammy still hadn’t achieved the necessary weight. The operation was vital for Tammy due to the complications her weight caused in her day-to-day life. During the coronavirus pandemic, Tammy caught COVID-19 and had to be hospitalized; upon returning from the hospital, she was placed on supplemental oxygen.
Unbeknownst to some, the Slaton sisters already had a fanbase before being approached by TLC. Amy launched her YouTube channel in 2011, and had uploaded dozens of videos which caught the eye of TLC producers after they were contacted by fans of the siblings. The video that garnered millions of views and propelled Amy and Tammy to online fame was “Chubby bunny challenge”, in which both sisters participated in the viral challenge by stuffing their mouths with marshmallows and trying to say “chubby bunny” without laughing.
TLC originally offered Tammy and Amy roles in “Family by the Ton”, another series that follows morbidly obese individuals on their quest to establish healthy habits and shed pounds. However, when network producers watched more of their videos, they realized that they had the potential to be stars in their own right.
Amy was far more successful at losing weight than Tammy, and continued shedding even more pounds after undergoing bariatric surgery. In mid-January 2022, however, fans began lambasting the latter TV personality when she was filmed vaping, taking shots, and eating pizza while hooked onto an oxygen machine.
The shocking videos came shortly after Tammy checked out of a food addiction rehab center earlier than scheduled. The footage was included in the season three episode “Moving on Up and Partying on Down”; Tammy was picked up by her close friends Ralph, Rob and JT, and said in a confessional: “As a teenager I wasn’t doing any partying. But now I’m to the point where I don’t care. I’m gonna be me.”
The group then stopped at a liquor store, where Tammy, who had been vaping in the car on the way, asked the clerk for “a bottle of whatever and eight shots”. Despite receiving her fair share of criticism, Tammy’s friends didn’t get off lightly either, as netizens blasted them for enabling the TLC star’s dangerously unhealthy behavior.
The controversial episode came hot on the heels of another shocking announcement. In December 2021, Tammy confirmed that she’d broken up from her boyfriend Phillip Redmond, also known as the “BBW King”; apparently, Phillip blamed the split on Tammy’s insecurities. Amy was understandably pleased to hear that Tammy and Phillip had called it quits, as she thought Phillip was enabling her sister’s unhealthy habits.
The rest of Tammy and Amy’s family took Amy’s side, as Phillip was revealed to be a fan of “big beautiful women” and had previously stated online that he was only looking for women who weighed over 300lb (136kgs). Amy doubted that Phillip would support Tammy on her weight loss journey, which led to the sisters arguing.
Things reached a boiling point in February 2022, when Tammy’s brother Chris revealed in the season three finale that she had been taken to the hospital because she couldn’t breathe. Tammy was placed on a ventilator and put into a medically induced coma, which was a frightening experience for all parties involved.
1000-Lb. Sisters: Why Fans Think Tammy’s Breathing Problems Made Her A Villain https://t.co/T3jRIJo2l7 #1000LbSisters #RealityTV #1000LbSisters pic.twitter.com/5AFM2SJegh
— SOS/CTS/HH (@SoapOperaSpy) March 6, 2022
The situation got so bad that Tammy’s sister Amanda revealed that the family were making funeral plans, adding: “They’re just telling us that her lungs have given up, and like, her body is shutting down.”
After waking up from the coma, Tammy was given a tracheotomy and spent three weeks in hospital before returning to rehab. This time around, she took things much more seriously, lost 115 pounds (52 kilos) in 30 days, and planned on staying in the rehab center until the end of summer.
Although Tammy has certainly been unlucky in love with Phillip Redmond and another ex-boyfriend Jerry Sykes – who turned out to be a married man – she wasted no time in finding another other half: Caleb Willingham. The couple met in Ohio while completing their respective rehab programs and hit it off immediately, tying the knot in November 2022 at Windsor Lane Rehabilitation Center.
Not much is known about Caleb, but we can confirm that the couple invited just 30 friends and family to the intimate wedding ceremony. Caleb proposed to Tammy in late October and is currently planning on moving to Kentucky to be closer to her when he completes rehab.
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Amy Slaton-Halterman
In February 2022, Amy surprised fans by announcing that she would quit “1000-lb Sisters” if producers didn’t cut down her hours, as she was finding it hard to juggle motherhood with her busy filming schedule. At the time, the TV star’s son Gage was 15 months old, and she herself was pregnant for a second time. In an exclusive interview given from her home in Morganfield, Kentucky, Amy revealed: “He’s always at granny’s when we’re filming and stuff. I feel like I’m losing valuable time… Last season I was working every day for weeks, plus renovating a house, plus Gage, plus Tammy, plus my mom. It was just a lot last year, and I can’t do it.”
Viewers of the show became worried about young Gage when cleaners were sent in during an episode to help Amy and her family move out. When the cleaners moved Gage’s crib, some viewers claimed to have seen roaches and rat faeces in the empty spot where it had been. Baby clothes, kitchen equipment, and a dirty towel were also visible.
Paying no heed to cruel online commentary, Amy welcomed her second son, Glen Allen, in July 2022. She hasn’t shared many details about Glen’s birth yet, but we do know that his brother Gage was born in a breech position and with low blood sugar. Amy and Michael were understandably concerned about their firstborn, but there have been no more health scares since then.
The online personality was born in October 1987 and has over 500,000 followers across various social media platforms. Although she earns a nice paycheck from her YouTube channel, the bulk of her income is from her TLC salary. Her husband Michael works as a mill operator at Shamrock Technologies, meaning that the family don’t rely entirely on her reality show income.
Although Amy may appear to be the more level-headed sister, she also has a few skeletons in her closet. Shockingly, she was accused of animal abuse by her sister Tammy in a now-deleted video detailing Amy’s summer 2019 birthday trip. During the trip, Amy, Tammy and Michael allegedly went to an arcade but left Little Bit locked in a hot car, as the pet dog couldn’t enter the premises. Tammy added that she gave Little Bit ice water, but that she didn’t think Amy would’ve done so.
In the wake of the arcade scandal, another story of possible animal abuse surfaced in which Amy left her German Shepherd inside a camper during a hot summer’s day in 2016. Amy, who no longer owns the dog, explained that there were fans in the camper, and that the dog had cold water to drink. Even so, Amy was bitten by her German Shepherd when she returned to the camper, after leaving it alone for an undisclosed period of time. Netizens speculate that Amy gave the dog away or sold it due to German Shepherds being a demanding breed that need plenty of physical exercise, but this was never confirmed.
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Amy has also been accused of scamming her fans in the past. As we mentioned earlier, she began her YouTube channel in January 2011 and uploaded dozens of videos including make-up tutorials, challenges, and storytimes. Amy’s outrageous stories racked up millions of views and were especially popular, especially the video in which she included the circumstances that led to her arrest in 2010.
One of Amy’s videos from 2015 backfired, however, as it led to fans believing that she was scamming them. In the now-deleted video, Amy claimed that Tammy had entered the hospital the day before, as she had pneumonia and couldn’t breathe. While holding back tears, Amy then asked her fans if they could provide financial assistance, saying: “If y’all could donate a penny, nickel, dime, I would be so happy.”
Amy then allegedly launched a GoFundMe to pay for Tammy’s funeral expenses, which included an expensive extra-large coffin. The GoFundMe was taken down when it was revealed that Tammy hadn’t died, but according to news outlets, bamboozled fans had already donated over $1,000.
A couple of days later, Amy posted a video with Tammy in which the latter showed no signs of having been hospitalized with life-endangering pneumonia. The exact story of Tammy’s alleged hospital stay was never cleared up, but fans felt deceived, and thought that they deserved an explanation – Amy has yet to give one.
Last but not least, Amy was arrested in June 2010 for shoplifting from Walmart. News outlets confirm that Amy was stopped by security guards when an alarm went off at the exit doors; she was told to come back into the store and asked if she had taken anything. Amy then confessed to having taken a $7 book, and was arrested by cops then and there.
In July 2010, Amy pleaded guilty to the crime, received two years probation, was fined $500, and ordered to stay off the premises of Walmart. The probation conditions included submitting to random periodic drug screenings, and not using illegal drugs. Amy didn’t break the terms of her probation – she would’ve been sentenced to 10 days in jail if she had.
In a 2017 YouTube video, Amy explained that she was unemployed, and grieving the loss of her grandfather at the time. “I really wanted this book and I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to try to steal it.’” Amy confessed. “So I put it in my purse… I always learn from my mistakes and this was a big mistake… I’ll never do it again.”
Overall, Amy and Tammy still have a way to go when it comes to their weight loss journeys. Amy has made visible progress, whereas Tammy finally appears to be taking her health seriously after years of unhealthy habits. A new season of “1000-lb Sisters” has been confirmed by TLC, and will air in mid-January 2023, so we’ll be sure to receive updates on the famous siblings soon.
