“1,000-Lb. Sisters”' Amy Slaton Explains Why She’s ‘Not So Focused On Weight Loss Right Now’ (Exclusive)
The "1,000-Lb. Sisters" star has lost 176 lbs. but says after her divorce — and bipolar disorder diagnosis — she's prioritizing her mental health and parenting her two sons
Since getting weight loss surgery in 2019, Amy Slaton has lost 176 lbs. — and her healthier lifestyle helped make her dream of becoming a mother come true — but the 1,000-Lb Sisters star now says she’s focusing on her mental health rather than her physical size.
“You can't have weight loss without mental health,” she tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview in this week’s issue.
After a tumultuous year in which Amy went through a divorce from her husband of six years, Michael Halterman (the two are parents to sons sons Gage Deon, 3, and Glenn Allen, 1), her mental health was “the worst it’s ever been,” says Amy, 36. “And it wasn't just affecting me, it was affecting Gage and Glenn. So it was just rough.”
In their rocky marriage, “there was no support. There was no love. There was no kindness. There was just mental abuse,” says Amy, who recently shared with her social media followers that she’s in a new relationship with boyfriend Tony Rodgers.
Amy finally realized how serious her mental health issues were after a massive blow-up between herself and her sisters Amanda and Tammy during a trip to Florida over the summer. “That's not the person I am,” she says of the confrontation, which will feature sometime during the TLC reality show’s fifth season, which premiered this week. "That is not the person I want to be,”
That fight prompted Amy to seek help. “I’ve said I'm not a therapy person — I said, 'I will never go to therapy,'” Amy says. “But I went to therapy. And I’m happier.”
She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, depression and acute stress disorder, “which is like PTSD from the whole stuff going on with Michael,” she says. “It's a relief to know that I'm not crazy. It was something totally different. I'm not just snapping because I'm snapping. I'm snapping because I'm bipolar.”
She’s continuing to go to therapy, she says, and she’s on medication for her conditions. She tries to maintain her happiness by “talking to Tammy, and being with my kids and my family as much as possible. Surrounding myself with love and light … and puppies.”
TLC
Amy Slaton with sons Gage and Glenn in October 2023.Her boys seem to have benefitted: “Once once you're calm, the babies are usually calm,” she says. Her sister Tammy says the difference is noticeable: “I think the kids are even happier now. Gage, he has anxiety I guess, and when he gets really overwhelmed, he starts crying and holding his ears. So he don't do that very often anymore.” Adds Amy: “He was doing a lot there for a while.”
Amy, who likes to get exercise by walking in the park with her sons, says she’s committed to raising her boys in a healthier environment than she and Tammy had when they were children. “I try to be there for them as much as possible,” she says “If they ain't at Daddy's, they're with me. I know my mama couldn't always do that.”
And, she says, she makes sure to expose them to healthy foods. “Gage will eat Brussel sprouts. He'll eat broccoli. He'll eat cauliflower. He'll eat all of that,” she says, although she admits “he prefers chicken nuggets and french fries!” And Glenn, she says, is happy to try new and different foods.
Related: All the Ups and Downs of '1000-Lb. Sisters' ' Tammy and Amy Slaton
Her hopes for the boys, she says, are simple: “I want them to learn how to be good guys. I want them to learn as much as they can, soak up all that knowledge. I don't want them to be on the streets one day. I want them to actually be contributing members of society.”
For more on Tammy and Amy Slaton, pick up this week's issue, on stands now.
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