Extreme Weight Loss stars now – unrecognisable, dead in Chipotle car park and $31m scam

Extreme Weight Loss first premiered on ABC back in 2011, and followed a group of contestants desperate to drop a huge percentage of their body weight.

Though obesity can come with a huge range of health concerns, crash diets can also lead to excess pressure on the body, and it’s no surprise that some of the casts’ stories ended in tragedy. Most recently, Brandi Mallory was sadly found dead after picking up dinner from fast food joint Chipotle.

She was last seen on CCTV footage at a Chipotle in Atlanta, Georgia, picking up dinner before walking back to her car. Sadly, she never drove away, and police were later called to the scene to find her dead inside her vehicle.

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No signs of foul play were found at the scene, with the cause of her death still under investigation. Brandi, a make-up artist, was just 40 years old. She appeared in season four of the hit reality show and dropped an incredible 150lbs on the programme.

Brandi was first encouraged to lose weight from her starting weight of 329lbs, explaining: “I was literally waking up every day like… this may be my last day waking up, like, I don’t know what’s going to happen for me. When it’s playing on your mind that I might need to do something about my weight, because I’m afraid I might die too, then you might need to pay attention to something like that.”

Brandi put her all into getting fit, even competing in a Half Ironman during the show, which saw her swim, bike and run for 70.3 miles in less than eight hours.

Sadly, hers isn’t the only story to end in tragedy. Daily Star takes a look back at where former contestants are now.

Dead in hotel

2014 season star Rod Durham died at the age of 52 in 2020. The Florida-based high school teacher was found dead in his motel room, where he was on holiday.

Extreme Weight Loss trainer Heidi Powell was first to pay tribute to the star, writing on social media: “Heaven just got a lot brighter today when Rod entered the pearly gates. Rod, you will be missed terribly. Everything from your kindness, to your warm smile and bear hugs, to your friendship, to you extraordinary ability to make ANYONE (including me) feel special. YOU are special. And will never be forgotten.”

Rod dropped more than 180lbs from his initial weight of 450lbs on the show, and often documented his weight loss journey and gym regimen on Instagram. He praised the show for “giving him back his life”.

Friends speculated he passed away from diabetic shock, though no official cause of death was ever made public.

Heart attack scare

While some stars tragically died after battling health issues, others were shocked by health scares they suffered on the show. In 2014, David Rushing feared he suffered a heart attack during a workout.

The star began to vomit and went dizzy as he was exercising – before undergoing an impressive physical transformation which left him basically unrecognisable.

He initially piled on the weight after losing his brother and sister within weeks of each other. David’s brother passed away after an accidental shooting, while his sister died from a seizure when David forgot to administer her medication.

He said: “After both those accidents, I just hated myself. I couldn’t believe that I was still alive and they were dead. I felt responsible for their death.”

$31million scam

Michael Giannulis appeared on Extreme Weight Loss in 2012, weighing in at 439lbs – and managed to lose half of his body weight. But after that, he was accused of causing others to lose pounds of cash.

The Florida resident was accused of defrauding thousands of people, amounting to $31.6million, after allegedly charging students as much as $60,000 for business ‘mentoring’ services alongside business partner Michael Williams. It was alleged that the students were simply being instructed to sell their classes on to others.

Neither man was criminally charged and maintained their innocence, but March 2020 saw them pay a fine totalling $760,000. They also auctioned off two Rolex watches and dozens of diamond rings to pay the fine.

Complaints were filed by the Federal Trade Commission, claiming the men used “false claims and misleading testimonials” to enrol students in the My Online Business Education (MOBE) programme. The FTC said MOBE was instead a scheme that was shut down in 2018 after scamming people out of millions.

Tragic split

In 2020, personal trainer Chris Powell – who helped contestants shed their unwanted pounds on the show – called it quits in his marriage to wife Heidi Powell after nearly a decade together.

Chris posted on his account: “We have some difficult news to share with you today, and hope it’s received with the compassion and love we need right now. It is with much thought, prayer, and love that Heidi and I have decided to separate as husband and wife.

“While this may come as quite a shock to many of you, please know that this decision was made over the course of many months on a quest to create the best dynamic for our modern family, and we are now in a great place. While we feel an immense amount of sadness from the ending of one chapter, there is also an overwhelming amount of hope, peace, and love as we move into this next chapter with a slightly different-looking relationship.”

The pair share son Cash and daughter Ruby, while Heidi is also a mum to two kids from her previous marriage.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk