Fans know Dr. Now as the surgical genius behind TLC's "My 600-lb Life."
But while he's helped numerous clients completely transform their lives over the years, there's a
lot more to this reality star doctor than meets the eye. Here's the true story on Dr. Now!
On "My 600-lb Life," viewers watch Dr. Now perform a variety of surgeries, including gastric bypass,
gastric sleeve, and excess skin removal surgery after a patient has lost a significant amount of weight.
Each of these procedures requires a specific skill set - which Dr. Now has clearly
perfected. Just consider the sheer number of people he's treated over the years!
But what you might not know, is that Dr. Now comes from a cardiology background.
He spent his four-year residency at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee,
and then embarked on a fellowship at the Texas Heart Institute in
Houston - which might be how he ended up in the Lone Star State.
In addition to both heart and weight-loss surgery, Dr. Now also conducts gallbladder
and appendix removal surgery, according to Houstonia. When it comes down to it,
he's a versatile surgeon with the skills to pay the bills!
The vast majority of the time, the view of the operating room on "My 600-lb Life" consists of
Dr. Now operating via a laparoscope, which allows him to conduct a less invasive type of procedure.
And, as it turns out, he just happens to be a pioneer in this field. According to his website,
"[He] was the first doctor in Houston to propose,
research and adopt the benefits of laparoscopic surgery for procedures previously unconsidered."
When Dr. Now first started out, the technique was literally on the cutting edge. Today,
however, you'll find it in operating rooms all over the world. The reality star also
performs surgery on people that other doctors would consider too high-risk. Typically,
if you weigh more than 450 pounds, the average hospital will require you to lose weight before
they would ever agree to an operation. When you factor all of this into consideration, it's hard
not to be impressed by Dr. Now, who sincerely cares for his patients. He told Houstonia,
"Taking care of these people, that's my job. I never worked a day in my life."
"Since you lost your weight and you've shown that you can stick with your diet,
I'm gonna approve you for weight loss surgery."
"Awesome. Thank you so much."
While many reality shows are somewhat staged or scripted to create the most drama, "My 600-lb
Life" depicts real people going through deeply real struggles. That's an aspect that Dr. Now
takes very seriously. And he sees his profession as a calling to help others. He told Houstonia,
"Looking at the moral obligation that we've got,
you see somebody who has no life who could have a life."
But as generous as he may be with his time, it might be surprising to learn that Dr. Now often
doesn't make a profit when it comes to weight-loss surgeries. Still, that's not something that keeps
him up at night. Speaking about surgeons in the weight-loss field, he told the outlet,
"We don't need to be rich. We do make a living,
but we don't need to worry about making a living out of every patient we see."
Dr. Now isn't out to get rich on the backs of his patients, but that doesn't mean he's not
about a little side hustle. For one, he's the self-published author of the book "The Scale
Does Not Lie, People Do: Reversing Obesity Now." And since he didn't go through a book publisher,
all proceeds go directly back to him. He also has a variety of Dr. Now-related merch for sale
on his website, including T-shirts, mugs and magnets — all with his best-known catchphrases.
"How are y'all doing? This is Dr. Now. You know me from my TV show."
But perhaps even more lucrative than those hustles is the star's Cameo listing; for $200,
you can request that Dr. Now record a personal message for you or a friend.
Given that the doctor has hundreds of positive reviews,
it's safe to say that he's making some pretty good money while making his fans happy.
If you're a longtime fan of "My 600-lb Life" but haven't gone down the rabbit hole doing research
about the show, then you might not know that Dr. Now went through a pretty rough divorce.
What we've gleaned from public legal files is that in 1975, Dr. Now married mom-of-three,
Delores, who was a stay-at-home mother for the duration of their marriage.
But some time during their decades-long partnership, things went awry for Dr. Now and his ex-wife.
Delores filed for divorce in 2002, and the process dragged on for two years before
they finalized everything in a trial. Dr. Now then appealed the outcome, which was denied three years
later in 2007. We'll probably never know what happened for sure, but as documents stated:
"The trial court attributed fault in the breakup of the marriage to [Dr. Now],
dissolved the marriage on grounds of cruelty and insupportability,
and concluded that [Dr. Now] committed waste of community assets."
In the end, Delores was awarded 70 percent of the couple's assets.
In addition to his successful medical practice, Dr. Now has some other talents
that might surprise you. For one, it appears that he enjoys playing the guitar - as he has
posted on Instagram. And it also looks like he is quite the accomplished visual artist.
According to another post, the physician can be seen working on a landscape, writing,
"One more at work. It is finished. I never keep any artwork and give it away but this one,
so many people asked me for it so I'm going to make some limited [edition] reprints."
Apparently, the doctor-cum-artist realized he could turn his passion for drawing into a bit of a business.
And you can even snag some of his sketches on his website. Pretty impressive for a busy surgeon who only does this on the side!
You've watched the show, you've followed the
stories, and you've cried the tears of sorrow and joy. But have you ever wondered just how
"My 600-lb Life" came to be in the first place? As Dr. Now tells it, he never set out to get
famous on reality TV. Instead, he says he was just doing his job. He shared with Houstonia,
"It just happened. I was operating on a lot of 600-pound people."
"Alright. Let's check your current weight and see where you're at."
While that was all true, it was only part of the story. When you dig deeper,
you'll find out that Dr. Now's son is the main reason that the show ever made it to air.
Producer and director Jonathan Nowzaradan formed the production company, Megalomedia,
back in 2003. And according to the Austin Chronicle,
the first documentary film that they ever released - "World's Heaviest Woman" - was about Austin,
Texas local Renee Williams who weighed over 800 pounds. Tragically, the subject of the film died
two weeks after receiving weight-loss surgery, but the seed had been planted. After that, Megalomedia
filmed six episodes of "Last Chance to Live," which eventually turned into "My 600-lb Life."
It might be worth noting, though, that some of the stars of "My 600-lb Life" have filed
lawsuits against Megalomedia for a variety of reasons, according to Starcasm. Fortunately,
none of the claimants appear to have a bad thing to say about Dr. Now. And most show participants
seem to be genuinely grateful for his help.
Some clients of the show who sued Megalomedia allege that the production company did not have their best interests in mind.
But while they weren't targeting their life-saving surgeon, some of Dr. Now's
previous patients have brought lawsuits against the doctor, according to Radar. In one from 2012,
a patient alleged that Dr. Now left part of a tube inside of her, which was in her body for two years
before puncturing her intestines. The patient later dropped the suit, and Dr. Now explained,
"The lawsuit against me was dismissed because I was not the one who left the tube."
That same year, another patient filed suit against the surgeon,
alleging that he performed a botched abdominal surgery on her, which resulted in pain, deformity,
and impaired movement, according to Radar. And, once again, the claimant
ultimately withdrew the complaint. Finally, in 2017, yet another patient sued Dr. Now,
this one also claiming that he left part of a tube and a steel connector in her body.
The lawsuits don't end there for Dr. Now, as family members of his patients who died after
having surgery have also claimed that the doctor was negligent. Back in 2012,
the mother of Tina Shepherd alleged that Dr. Now did not properly educate her daughter about what
to expect after weight-loss surgery, according to Chron. However, Dr. Now denied any wrongdoing
and explained that she hadn't satisfied the post-surgery requirements, adding,
"We called and called her to make follow-up appointments and she said she would come in,
but she never showed up."
Also back in 2012, a woman claimed that Dr. Now was negligent in previously treating her late
husband, according to Radar. The claimant later dropped her suit after Dr. Now asked for "proof"
of her claims. Looks like for this doctor, even the best intentions don't always result in a
desirable outcome when it comes to his patients. Some viewers who watch "My 600-lb Life" might
not fully grasp how someone could become so overweight, that they clock in at 600 pounds or more.
And some might be tempted to think that the patients are at fault for their morbid obesity -
or, that they could just turn it all around if they had even a shred of willpower. Still, as Dr.
Now puts it, that's not really the case for most of his patients. He revealed in a chat with Chron,
"Obesity is not a choice for people.
It's not something that most people can walk their weight off with diet and exercise."
"I don't even know the person that I was pre-weight. I lost her years ago."
It appears that it's infinitely more complicated than simply flipping a switch, something that
Dr. Now understands better than most. But even so, the reality star doctor does believe that patients
are able to improve their outcomes - and that it does take hard work to turn it all around. This
is the reason why not every patient is successful. When it comes to genetics and lifestyle, he says,
"It's our own responsibility to understand what the problems are and what the solutions are."
"I want chocolate. I want chocolate. I want chocolate. I want chocolate."
"So chocolate is more important to you than living, apparently."
Not only does Dr. Now implement occasional tough love with his clients, he certainly
puts the focus on wellness in his own life, too. And he makes sure to get his exercise.
You can see this play out on Instagram, where he posts shots of himself working out,
accompanied by pearls of wisdom. In one caption, he wrote:
"We can come up with a million [reasons] not to do regular physical activity,
but the fact is that each year nearly 3.2 million people die because of inactivity."
That's not the only time the reality star proved to his fans that he regularly gets
his sweat on. In another post, he shared a video of himself doing preacher curls;
and he worked his lats in yet another Instagram video. Scroll a little further and you can see
Dr. Now crushing some pull-downs. It's nice to know that Dr. Now practices what
he preaches to his patients and makes sure to keep himself accountable - even at 76 years old!
Of course, the doctor also makes healthy eating a priority as well.
While Dr. Now may be a busy physician, reality TV star, published author, and social media
personality, he still makes time for things in his life that don't have anything to do with business.
For one, the surgeon enjoys spending time with his family, posting on Instagram,
"Some of my hobbies include playing with my grandchildren and building tiny [LEGO] hospitals."
It also appears that Dr. Now enjoys a great game of chess, as well as the many health benefits
that come with it. Revealing that he played lots of chess during the pandemic lockdown, he wrote,
"I've enjoyed playing chess for decades. […] The
brain is a muscle and brain games are a great way to keep your mental health."
It sounds like this doctor is here for his own best health,
as well as that of his legions of fans.
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