What Really Happened To Samantha Mason From My 600-Lb Life?

The hit reality show "My 600-lb Life" follows the stories of Americans struggling with obesity who, with the show's help, hope to shed the pounds and change their lives for the better. Its resident expert Dr. Nowzaradan, nicknamed Dr. Now, is a surgeon specializing in bariatric surgery — better known as weight loss surgery. Under his mentorship and the eye of the camera, the participants adopt strict diet and exercise regimes in a program resembling boot camp, often with the aim of losing enough weight to safely undergo life-changing surgery.

As the show reveals, the underlying issues of the participants' obesity problems are complex and tough to tackle. Many report a history of ill physical and mental health, often compounding damaging past experiences of abuse and addiction. Their long and demanding journeys can't always be captured on reality TV, and we're sometimes left wondering how things turned out for the cast after the credits roll. 

Samantha Mason was one particularly memorable member of the show's cohort, taking part in its most recent season from December 2020 to March 2021. As TV Overmind note, her job as a fetish model saw her make a virtue of her unusual size, eating on camera for paying viewers. Although this brought cash and confidence, the lifestyle led to spiraling weight gain that saw her seek help from "My 600-lb Life." We saw the beginning of her journey, but what is she up to now?

When we first met Samantha Mason on "My 600-lb Life", she weighed over 800 pounds, as per TV Shows Ace. Mason's TikTok bio reveals that at one time, her weight actually exceeded even this dangerous total, claiming that she was "formerly 950 pounds." The reality star reported in October 2020 that she had lost around 320 pounds since May that year.

Recording another TikTok from her hospital bed after weight-loss surgery, she partially attributes her success to going under the knife. Aiming to keep the pounds off, she also reported entering rehab as part of her recovery on December 1st, saying "I'm taking advantage of everything that I possibly can in here while I'm trying to heal."

However, Mason insists that her experience on "My 600lb Life" has been a hindrance, not a help, to this healing. A vocal critic of what she calls "the 'let's exploit the fat people and laugh at them publicly' show", she accused its creators of maltreatment and disingenuous motives, describing her experience of being "ridiculed on national TV." 

She's calling the show's 'reality' TV status into question too. As has long been speculated, she claims that her supposedly candid conversations with Dr. Now were in fact scripted. One TikTok video detailing her feelings is backed by Lily Allen's "F*** You" — so we'd say her take on "My 600-lb Life" is pretty clear.

Since appearing on "My 600-lb Life," Mason has endured savage online abuse. She takes a defiant attitude to those who criticize her weight and lifestyle and points out that trolls are all too happy to be entertained by her struggle onscreen before hitting the keyboard to put her down.

"If I was on disability, people would [complain]. I eat cakes for a living, people [complain]," she told TikTok, as reported by Distractify. Asserting that her relationship to food is one of addiction, she continues, "what you watched on that show is me shooting up my heroin. That fork was my crack pipe, and that cake was my crack, and you watched me do it."

Clapping back at those who accuse her of inviting criticism by appearing on "My 600-lb Life" in the first place, she insisted she "didn't think the show was as horrible as it is" when she signed up. Citing desperation and fear for her life, she said "I thought I was going to die ... when you think you're going to die, you'll do anything."

Despite the backlash, Mason maintains an online presence, reporting her efforts to build healthy habits as she recovers. In her most recent TikTok video, she describes having "traded food for coloring books," showing off a stash of new stationery. Here's hoping her positive progress will continue long into the future.