‘My 600-lb Life’ Star Reportedly Dead: Latonya Pottain Was 40

Latonya Pottain, whose weight-loss journey was chronicled on Season 11 of TLC’s My 600-lb Life, has died of natural causes.

Pottain passed away at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana Saturday night, the Natchitoches Parish Coroner’s Office confirmed. She was 40.

Although Pottain’s cause of death is pending the findings of a final autopsy, a preliminary autopsy found that Pottain died from congestive heart failure, the coroner told TMZ. Prior to her passing, the TLC star had experienced difficulty breathing, was “extremely uncomfortable,” and looked unwell when family visited her Saturday morning, her brother told the outlet. She was transported to a hospital later that evening after she went into cardiac arrest, he recalled a nurse telling him over the phone. She died that same night.

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Latonya was joined by her goddaughter for a workout. It’s so special to have inspirational cheerleaders! #My600lbLife

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TLC viewers will remember Pottain from her time on My 600-lb Life. Pottain appeared on the show’s 11th season in 2023. After falling in love and finding the man she wanted to marry, Pottain, fearing that she would be unable to walk down the aisle, embarked on a weight loss journey, starting her episode weighing 632 pounds and with a support system that included her fiancé, Daune, her nephew Adrian, and her caretaker, Virgie.

Pottain struggled with the difficult weight loss regime, though, and she continued to gain weight every time she met with Dr. Younan Nowzaradan. She only lost weight when she was previously hospitalized with heart issues. Her episode ended with Dr. Now telling her that he could no longer help her as she failed to stay on her weight-loss program. She ended the episode weighing under 600 pounds, but ineligible for bariatric surgery.

Opening up about her journey in a January 2023 Facebook post, Pottain expressed hope that her episode would help others.

“My story will help other people,” she wrote, per Distractify. “No, I have not reached my goal, but I’m working on me. Please keep all negative comments to yourself. If you know me, then you know I come with that [fire] that will blow back. So if you wanna do anything for me, say a positive prayer and thank you in advance.”

After her episode aired, Pottain remained committed to losing weight. She told the Shreveport Times in March 2023 that she was “back with my trainer, I’m dieting and my weight is going down. I’m also moving to be closer to my family so I can get my weight down and get my surgery.”