Putting herself first! As Vanessa Cross attempts to lose weight on TLC’s new series 1000-lb Best Friends, the reality star offered a glimpse at how her love life took a turn amid the journey.
“My dating life is horrible and I’ve kind of stopped. This is just recently. Because they say if you stop looking, that’s when a man finds you,” Vanessa, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting the upcoming TLC and Discovery+ show. “So I’m putting everything on hold because I tried to talk to a couple guys and ended up sabotaging myself. We get into an argument or something would happen and I’d end up wanting to eat. Right now, I’m only focusing on losing weight in myself.”
Vanessa noted that dealing with her husband’s passing affected both her mental and physical health throughout the years.
“That’s what turned me from where I [was at] 350 pounds throughout my entire life — but when he passed away in 2016, my life spiraled out of control. I gained probably at least 100 pounds [and] actually at my biggest I was 500 pounds,” she explained to Us. “I got up to 500 pounds and then by 2018 is when I got back down to 300 pounds. But losing my husband was the worst thing of my life because I never knew that kind of pain existed.”
The TLC personality also gushed about how her late husband uplifted her during their relationship, saying, “He didn’t care how big I was. He told me how beautiful I was every single day. I probably will never find a man like that, but I thank God that he was in my life the time he was. But taking him away ruined me [and] destroyed me. That’s something I’m still trying to repair.”
During Vanessa’s attempts to lose weight in the past, she started to pin down the personal struggles that prevented her from making progress.
“The physical pain, just because of the surgeries I’ve had on my ankles and my back, but mentally I’m having a real hard time not understanding why food is so important to me,” she detailed. “When I walk to the refrigerator, why do I want to grab a full fat soda instead of a vitamin water? That’s my main thing because mentally I’m working through some things and I am losing weight, but I’m not fully there yet.”
For Vanessa, her goal weight would be around 200 pounds but she isn’t putting pressure on herself, adding, “I’ll just say I’m losing weight. I’m trying and I’m doing my best, but I’m just not there yet.”
1000-lb Best Friends premieres on TLC and Discovery+ Monday, February 7, at 10 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi