- Entertainment
ByLinda DiProperzioandReecha Kulkarni
Destinee LaShaee, who made history on the TLC reality show "My 600-Lb. Life" as the first transgender star, has died. She was 30.
The Louisiana native struggled with weight issues for most of her life but decided to go on the show to help her take charge of it. The show helps contestants over 600 pounds gain access to gastric bypass surgery. She'd told viewers that she loved her curves but knew she needed to lose weight so that she could "be approved to transition completely," according toIMDb.
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"I feel like all I'm constantly doing is just trying to escape all my depression and pain at this point. Food is the only thing I have to turn to to do that. The thing that is saving me every day is also what is destroying my life now to the point where I can feel it killing me," she'd said in her episode. "My situation is at a breaking point. I need to be able to get help, I need to be able to lose this weight or they're going to be burying me next because I don't think I can live until next year being this big. At this rate, I give myself a couple months," she'd continued.
Right before Destinee signed on to "My 600-Lb. Life," she weighed 668 pounds and attempted suicide. By the end of her weight loss journey, she lost more than 500 pounds, per Daily Mail. However, her struggles with mental health continued long after.
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If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Destinee LaShaee was open about her mental health issues
Destinee LaShaee's weight problems began when she was very young. Born to a teenage mom, LaShaee was placed in foster care as a child, weighing around 150 pounds by the age of 9. By the time she was 15, LaShaee weighed 350 lbs, per The Daily Mail. She also experienced an emotionally traumatic childhood as she grappled with her own gender and sexual identities. At the age of 18, she came out as gay to her family members, many of whom shamed her. Destinee's weight and mental health struggles grew deeper — and then got even worse when her brother died from complications from a minor surgical procedure. Her decision to sign up for"My 600-Lb. Life" was motivated by these events.
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And while the reality show helped LaShaee move and take back her physical health, as she lost 500 pounds during and after the show, her mental health wavered and she was open about having battled depression as well as suicidal thoughts during that time. In fact, in 2020, LaShaee sued the show's production company, alleging that their treatment of her during filming made her suicidal. She claimed that the producers had "taken advantage" of her and focused "only on ratings" even when she was dealing with emotional distress from her brother's death (via The Sun).
While the cause of her death hasn't been confirmed yet, many fans and friends believe that her deteriorating mental health could have been a factor.
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If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
Her last post on social media was heartbreaking
One of the last posts that Destinee LaShaee wrote on social media before her death caused many to believe that the cause of her death may have been suicide. "To everyone who genuinely love and support me, I love you and I'm grateful to have touched millions of lives and hearts around the world," she wrote on her Facebook page on Feb 5, 2022. "My prayer for someone struggling in anyway is that you keep fighting, know you're beautiful, you're strong ... Living my life with so much pain for so long I've come to realize that God makes no mistakes. I'm grateful for my journey and all I've been through. I don't regret a single moment. Love you all."
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The post before that read, "If I was surrounded by all my tears, I'd be floating in the ocean." However, the cause of her death hasn't been confirmed.
Destinee's brother, Wayne Compton, mourned her on Facebook. "No no no I'm sorry bro, I accept you for who you are, I accept every flaw that come with you, I'm sorry you felt alone, I'm sorry you felt you had nobody else to turn too, I'm sorry you felt you had no other option Destiny wouldn't of wanted this, lord why keep taking my siblings away, how much can I take," he wrote.
