Ashley Dunn Bratcher from My 600-lb Life is arguably one of the most memorable
stars of the hit TLC show. After weighing in at a shocking 725 pounds,
she managed to shed nearly half her body weight, and change her life.
But there's more to her story than the cameras could ever capture. Here's the truth about Ashley.
If there's one thing Season 4 viewers got to know about Ashley, it's that her son,
Patrick, is clearly her pride and joy. Patrick was just 5 years old
when the world first met him on the TLC show. And at the time,
Ashley was fully dependent on him to help her out with almost everything, around the house.
"Basically everything that involves standing and walking around a lot, Patrick does for me."
Since Ashley's husband was working as a long-haul trucker, driving up to 100 hours a week, fans
watched as little Patrick did the family laundry, and made breakfast for himself and his mom.
But even after Ashley became much more mobile, it was clear that her son remained her top priority.
"I just want to be a good mom. And take care of him.
Because I never had that. And I know how painful that is."
Ashley marked Patrick's 10th birthday by writing to her son on Facebook:
"Patrick Henry you are the best parts of your dad and I. Each day makes me even prouder to call you
mine. Son you can do anything you set your mind to. I can't wait to see the man [you're] growing
into. We love you more than words can express." When viewers first met Ashley, she weighed in at
725 pounds. But after two years of filming the series, under the guidance of Dr. Now,
she lost a whopping 350 pounds — nearly half of her entire body weight.
"I love you mommy"
Ashley underwent gastric bypass surgery on the show,
but the experience was far from easy. Ashley told People magazine,
"This whole journey has been not only a physical rollercoaster, it's been very much an emotional
rollercoaster. […] I've had moments where I've broken down. Whoever says weight loss surgery is
the easy way out is crazy because this has really been one of the hardest things I've ever done."
Fortunately, now, Ashley is much healthier and is able to move without pain,
according to her follow up episode on My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now.
While it might be easy to assume that gastric bypass surgery is the reason why Ashley was able
to lose so much weight, she says she had to do the hard work herself, telling People magazine,
"This surgery is just a tool. It does not change your mindset."
"So, I developed my own addition. Mine was just with food"
In reality, Ashley had to change a lifetime of well-learned habits,
given that she'd started gaining weight as a child and weighed 400 pounds by the time
she graduated high school. But she proved she was dedicated to putting in the work.
Ashley has reportedly maintained her weight loss since appearing on the show. And according
to Inquisitr, as of March 2020, she is, quote, "still on the road to success."
"Even though I'm still not where I wanna be, I remind myself how far I've already come"
Back in 2016, Bratcher posted a photo collage of "then" and "now" photos of herself on Instagram,
tagging it, quote, "getting there," and "God works in mysterious ways." And, according to
other photos on the star's social media pages, she looks happier and healthier than ever.
It turns out, Ashley is a big NFL fan. She loves football — and of course,
the proud Texan is a Dallas Cowboys girl! In fact, Ashley even changed her Facebook
profile pic to depict the Cowboy's logo over her face at one point,
and she has posted a few other pics in the past featuring the logo. In response
to a Facebook friend jokingly admonishing her for supporting them, Ashley replied,
"Yes. We watch them every year LOL."
And not only does she closely follow the team, but one year her son, Patrick,
even got to play on the Cowboys field. In 2017, Bratcher shared a photo of Patrick in his football
uniform at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Celebrating his birthday in the Facebook post, she wrote,
"My little man turns 8 today and he's getting to play on the Dallas Cowboys field.
So proud of the little man he's becoming." Emotional eating can affect people of all shapes
and sizes. Fortunately for Ashley, she has found several ways to combat turning to food as a source
of comfort, like she has previously done for many years of her life. She told People magazine,
"What I've found that helps me is when I do get that craving, I try to think about that
and think about what I'm feeling. If it's true hunger, then, you know, I'll eat something.
But if I'm feeling angry, happy, sad, I try to revert my mind to something else."
Thankfully, it sounds like Ashley has developed solid strategies to manage her food intake,
and she's also facing her real feelings in the moment. In fact,
there are several ways that Ashley battles emotional eating. And one of those is through
journaling. For her, writing down her thoughts facilitates her emotional growth
and is helping her to learn to love herself. She told People,
"I go for a walk. I play with my dogs. I might journal. It's a learning experience."
"I feel very ready for my next big step"
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