What Cynthia Wells From My 600-Lb Life Is Doing Today

While many of the patients featured on "My 600-lb Life" — especially the successful ones — are grateful for the work of Dr. Younan Nowzaradan and his strict regimen, not all the cast members have such a can-do attitude. One of the TLC reality show's more controversial patients was Cynthia Wells, who was featured on the series in Season 5. It was clear that the single mom was lonely and unhappy, despite her big family of five children ... not to mention she seemed exhausted. Raising five kids alone is a lot of responsibility, and it wouldn't be easy for anyone, but it was arguably harder at Cynthia's weight of 610 pounds when the episode filmed in 2016.

Yet, instead of being thankful for Dr. Now's help and optimistically putting in the work, Cynthia was stubborn. She proved herself enough to qualify for her gastric sleeve surgery and dropped 156 pounds, per Heavy, but when the weight loss wasn't as easy as she hoped, she proved to be one of the more stubborn of the doctor's patients, even calling his program "bulls***." She denied her own shortcomings and refused to follow Dr. Now's recommendation to see a therapist, instead choosing to work on her weight loss by herself. She refused to accept responsibility, and her weight loss stalled.

Fortunately, her 2018 follow-up episode showed that Cynthia eventually did take some responsibility, and she is now much happier. Keep reading for more on Cynthia's progress.

As exhausting as Cynthia Wells' five kids were for her to take care of, they ultimately helped her realize why she needed to take care of herself. As Cynthia said on her 2018 "My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now" episode (via Heavy), her extreme weight already prevented her from being as involved in their lives as she'd like. "I want to be out there with my kids, that's what a parent is supposed to do," Cynthia said. "I see that I'm harming them as much as I'm harming me because I'm not letting them live to their full potential." She'd been unable to attend her daughter Ukiah's dance performances.

While she made a good start, ending her first "My 600-lb Life" episode at 454 pounds after her gastric sleeve surgery, Cynthia continued to lose weight, even returning to Dr. Now for his help. She agreed to see a therapist, as that was the only way Dr. Now would agree to keep working with her, per Distractify. She lost another 100 pounds or so, and at the end of her follow-up episode, she weighed 360 pounds.

Cynthia is active on her Facebook page, and in April, posted that she'd been ill with COVID-19. But the schoolteacher had frequently posted updates about her fitness, continuing to work on her weight loss, and enjoys time with her children. We hope she recovers from the virus quickly.