It’s been an exceptionally long weight loss journey for My 600 Lb Life‘s Chay Guillory. Viewers who first met her with the My 600 Lb Life Chay debut back in Season 3 will be stunned to see a completely different person in more ways than one.
Chay’s journey has always had a heavier emotional component than most My 600 Lb Life participants. As if obesity weren’t enough by itself, Chay has also always struggled with the stress and confusion of feeling like his body isn’t the right one.
The My 600 Lb Life Chay story has taken plenty of turns
Other transgender cast members have joined My 600 Lb Life since Chay made her debut. But Chay was the first transgender person to participate on the show. And her story has only gotten more intense in the ensuing years.
Before we go any further, we should point out that “intense” in this case is happy news. Since we wrote this article, Chay revealed she’s found love in the form of her fiancé, Patrick.
In fact, Chay is no longer Chay Guillory at all. In early 2020, she became Chay Mulvey — after she and Patrick were married!
But the very first My 600 Lb Life Chay follow-up episode revealed a person becoming increasingly comfortable in a new frame. The biggest reason why? Chay’s announcement that he intended to begin living as the person he felt he was supposed to be.
Thanks to Chay’s weight loss success, his transgender journey toward becoming a woman named Lola could begin, as well.
“I feel like for so long I have lived a lie,” Lola said at the start of her 2017 Where Are They Now? episode. “I was trapped in a six-hundred-pound body and now I started to believe I can do this.
“And once I lose the weight, it will be possible for me to be the person I have always identified as. And that person is a woman.”
As Lola further explained, being more comfortable with who she was physically helped her deal with some of the emotional difficulties that came with weight loss.
“My body moves easier,” Lola said. “There is more pep in my step, and I just feel so much better, and I can do so much more.”
“[But] since surgery some things are different,” Lola went on. “I am living with my uncle and helping with his kids because he travels for work, but over the past year, I’ve had to deal with a lot of my emotions that led me to go to food.”
Chay Guillory’s latest pics: Lola comes alive
It’s a slow and steady journey for Lola, one she’s also documented on social media. For example, here’s Lola back in August of 2015, while filming for her first Where Are They Now? episode:
Lola Guillory in August of 2015
This pic from the late spring of 2016 reveals some major changes for the two-time My 600 Lb Life star:
Lola Guillory in April of 2016
And the photo below, from last autumn, is one of the most recent Lola made public following her second follow-up episode:
Lola Guillory in October of 2017
Lola’s newfound physical freedom has likewise had tangible results on her health and emotional well-being.
Last summer, for example, she won the role of Clairee Belcher in a local production of Steel Magnolias. It was a real-world tie-in with one of the final scenes in Lola’s Where Are They Now? episode, when Lola put on full makeup and a red dress for a nightclub performance.
Unfortunately, we haven’t yet been able to find out if Lola is planning on performing for a second follow-up to the My 600 Lb Life Chay episode. Her journey is one of the most memorable the show has ever aired.
And, judging by the internet-wide number of discussions about her, interest in finding out how she’s doing and what her next steps will be remains high.
We certainly wish Lola nothing but happiness and continued success 🙂
You can keep up with Lola’s journey by following her on Facebook here and on Instagram here. And you can stream the My 600 Lb Life Chay episode here, via TLC.
(Photo credits: Facebook, TLC)
