Tom Arnold is opening up about his 75-lb. weight loss after a mini-stroke and “massive organ failure” caused the comedian to take on a new health journey. Arnold, 63, shared his story with Us Weekly Thursday, revealing that his health scare happened in January when he was giving kids Quinn, 9, and Jax, 6, a bath.
“I was giving the kids a bath and turned around to count to 10 when suddenly my vision in my right eye went black as if there was a curtain coming down over my eye,” the Roseanne alum revealed. “I had a mini-stroke. I checked into the hospital for the 24-hour stroke protocol. As a 63-year-old single father of a 9 and 6-year-old, it was scary.”
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Considering the “massive organ failure” he experienced two years prior, Arnold knew he needed to “make bigger changes” than just his medication, acknowledging he “really dropped the ball on self-care.” The fear of prematurely dying and leaving his children, whom he shares with ex-wife Ashley Groussman, prompted Arnold to reach out to life coach Charles D’Angelo.
“He really stresses the importance of emotions and thinking about what you deserve,” the Happy Endings star explained. “That was a huge game-changer for me.” Going from 285 lbs. to 210 lbs. since his time working with D’Angelo, Arnold told the outlet his trainer’s personal story of losing 160 lbs. and changing his life was inspirational to him.
“He offered to help me when and if I wanted to make serious changes in my life, and he’s persistent in trying to help those he feels called to. Following my health scare this past winter, I finally decided to take him up on his offer and I’m so glad I did,” he said. While the actor said he’s still like to “lose a little bit more” weight, he’s “happy” and feeling “great” as is. “I’m in touch with my body. I used to only look at my face in the mirror. Now, I deal with it,” he shared.
Arnold is even considering dating once more. “My friends would try to set me up with someone and I always avoided it. I realized I was avoiding it because I just didn’t feel great about me,” he explained. “It’s a lot easier to let yourself go when the only people who see you with your shirt off are your kids. The thought of dating is a little scary for me, I’m a work in progress … but everybody deserves human contact, even me.”
