TLC viewers witnessed a lot of heartbreak Tuesday night.
The latest episode of 1000-Lb. The sisters featured Tammy Slaton speaking via FaceTime to her husband, Caleb Willingham.
The first was home after a 14-month stay in rehab, while the second remained in the same rehabilitation center.
And he wasn’t doing well.
“M “My weight was 537 — and that’s not the worst part of the conversation,” Caleb told Tammy on the episode, adding on-air:
“The trach is going to have to stay inside.”
For his part, Slaton had lost hundreds of pounds over the previous year and even qualified for gastric bypass surgery.
She no longer regularly used an oxygen tank and no longer needed the type of tube mentioned above.
Hence Tammy’s disappointment with her partner’s state of health.
“It sucks,” she said in a confessional.
“I was hoping (the doctor) would tell Caleb that he had lost enough weight to have surgery and have his windpipe removed. It bothers me that he’s backsliding.
“But Caleb is very sensitive, so I feel like I can’t say anything. I feel like I have to be strong for him.
As fans now know well, Caleb died at the end of June at the age of 40… which means this season was filmed long before this tragedy took place.
No cause of death was ever given, but insiders said at the time that he had regressed on his weight loss journey and was stuck in the same rehab center where he met Tammy at time of his death.
This latest episode essentially confirms those earlier reports.
In this episode, Slaton then recalled their earlier conversations about how each would tackle their health issues.
“We know this wasn’t going to be easy for any of us,” she told Caleb.
“And that’s one thing I asked you to do, was to promise that you weren’t going to sit in your room all day.” I wanted you to go hang out with the boys, to keep your mind occupied, you know?
Admittedly, Caleb was honest about his struggles.
“I eat my fucking feelings,” he told his wife.
After rejecting a suggestion from Tammy that he try to distract himself via a hobby such as playing video games, Caleb said:
“I want my wife. I miss you.”
It’s so sad to see all this, knowing Caleb’s fate.
“Even if I’m not in love with him, I will always love him and miss him every day.” Tammy said via TikTok on November 21. “Things will get better.”
“I’m worried about Caleb,” Slaton said in another confessional Tuesday before becoming emotional.
“I think he will let the depression set in before he hits rock bottom again and is determined to come home. I feel guilty.
“I’m numb, I don’t know how to feel – overwhelmed, stressed, just everything…
“I’m strong for Caleb, Amy and the kids. If I collapse now, the whole world will go to hell. More than he already is.
1,000 pounds. Sisters airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on TLC.
