Laura Perez won over fans' hearts when she appeared on the TLC reality TV series My 600-lb
Life, weighing in at 594 pounds. But she's been up to more than just losing a whole lot
of weight since her TV appearance. Here's the truth about Laura Perez.
At the start of her weight-loss journey, Laura was well aware that she needed to make a change.
But the reality of her situation was pretty scary.
"I want to change, but I'm scared that I won't make it. I know if I don't do something, I'm
going to die soon."
Fortunately, Perez made enough headway on her own that she was eventually able to have
a gastrectomy while on the show. And she seems to have stayed on track toward a much healthier
lifestyle ever since. By her second follow-up episode on My 600-lb Life: Where Are They
Now, Perez had dropped over 300 pounds.
As fans of the show well know, Laura comes from a large, supportive family. Discussing
her personal life on My 600-lb Life, she confessed,
"I have a big family. And we all love to eat."
But while her family didn't appear to be helpful in keeping Laura away from greasy food and
sweets, they did seem to be supportive in other ways. When Laura and husband Joey were
tight on money and had nowhere to live, her family stepped in to help out. She said in
a follow-up episode,
"This past month has been extremely hard and disappointing. We couldn't keep up with the
rent on our new place, and we fell behind, so we got evicted."
Sharing that they'd become quote "homeless," Laura revealed that she and Joey moved in
with her sister, while they got back on their feet.
Laura is perhaps one of the most memorable faces of the series because her dramatic journey
was impactful for so many viewers. After all, she lost over 230 pounds by the end of her
initial episode, and she continued to get her weight down ever further, as the series
continued. On one of her follow up episodes, she weighed in at just 182 pounds, which is
one of the lowest weights to ever be featured on the show.
And, according to photos from Laura's since-deleted Facebook page, she seems to have continued
on the right path in her weight-loss journey — looking much more happy and healthy.
It's easy to imagine that losing weight and looking better than ever would make life easier,
but, for Laura, that wasn't exactly the case.
"I feel like I'm on the sidelines. She don't need me as often, and I'm a little scared
of losing her with all the changes we're going through"
Laura not only lost weight, but she also lost the relationship she'd once had with her husband
Joey. She said in a follow up episode,
"Joey and me seem to be fighting more than ever. It's gotten so bad that I don't think
there's a whole lot of hope for us right now."
She noted that while her personality had not changed, Joey's perception of her had definitely
shifted. She claimed, at the time,
"The better I get, the worse my relationship is getting. I had told him, 'I need you to
support me, not take care of me.'"
It seems as though Joey may have enjoyed his role as an enabler, rather than a real supporter.
"I'm not 600 pounds anymore. So I don't need to be trapped"
While the world got to know her as Laura Perez, she reportedly goes by a different name now,
according to In Touch Weekly: Angelika. And the reality TV star kept fans up to date with
her journey well after her appearance on the show by sharing updates on Facebook.
It's unclear exactly why, but Laura doesn't appear to have any social media that's still
active or public as of mid 2020. Perhaps the star goes by a new name because she wants
to start a fresh new life outside of the public eye. Whatever the case, we hope she's thriving.
Laura reportedly split from Joey — and she seems to have found a new love. According
to Starcasm, Laura was said to have begun sharing photos of herself with her new partner,
Eric Juarez. She reportedly shared a photo with Eric, and, in the caption, she described
her ex, writing,
"[He] brought my self-esteem down and made me feel like s--- for the last 3 years. So
much damage was done that there is no healing but now I've moved on."
After her ex allegedly stepped out on her, which fans saw hints of on the show, we're
glad she found someone more supportive of her.
Laura and her supposed partner, Eric, are rumored to be married and to have children
together, according to Starcasm. In 2018, Eric reportedly shared a status on Laura's
since-deleted Facebook page, writing,
"[I've] known my beautiful wife for 1 year now and God blessed us with 2 [babies]."
It's unclear exactly what Eric meant by the post, but it would appear that Laura may have
been pregnant with twin girls at the time. While we can't confirm the news, we certainly
hope that Laura has found peace and happiness in her life.
"I've worked hard to get here. And I'm ready to be who I've wanted to be"
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