‘My Big Fat Fabulous Life’: Whitney Way Thore Opens up About Honoring Late Mom Babs in New Season (Exclusive)

Whitney Way Thore feels the brand new season of My Big Fat Fabulous Life “definitely honored” her late mom, Barbara “Babs” Thore. Ahead of the Tuesday, Sept. 5 season premiere of the TLC show, Whitney opened up to PopCulture.com about filming in the aftermath of her mother’s death in December and how her father, Glenn Thore, has been handling the next chapter of his family’s life. 

When it comes to filming her mother’s funeral for My Big Fat Fabulous Life, Whitney told PopCulture, “truthfully, it made it easier.” She explained, “Because our crew and the people that are in the field and that film are really like our family. We have people who have been here for 10 seasons, and it really just actually felt like extra support. It felt like they should have been there – it would have felt strange if they weren’t.” 

The crew was “very hands-off” and “very respectful,” but the funeral episode will still be “hard to watch” for Whitney’s family. “Even though I was there, I don’t necessarily really remember [the funeral],” the reality personality explained, noting she was in such a “heightened emotional state” during the actual ceremony that watching her mother’s funeral back on camera will be difficult. “I think we’ll be happy when that episode is over,” she confessed.

Whitney is “really excited” for the rest of the season, however, which follows as she and brother Hunter Thore help their father enter into the next stage of his life by challenging him to complete a bucket list including everything from indoor skydiving to traveling across the world. “My mommy would be so proud of my dad,” Whitney shared. “He’s got a total rebrand, he’s no longer Glenn Thore, he’s GT, and the fans are going to see several sides [of him] that they’ve never seen before.”

Glenn retired just about six months before the death of his wife, which left him a bit rudderless after Babs’ passing. “His life has been full of work and caring for his family. He’s the best father on the planet. He’s never had time to just do things for himself ever,” Whitney explained. “So I wanted to challenge him to just think like, ‘What do you want to do, Dad?’”

Whitney and Hunter are “super proud” of their father for stepping out of his comfort zone. “Even though he’s so sad and still is and struggles to really find meaning in living without my mom, still to this day, I think my brother and I, it’s our job to help him enjoy the time he has here,” she told PopCulture. “[I remind him], ‘Dad, if you had died first … what would you have wanted Mom to do?’” Whitney assured, “The rest of the season I actually think is really exciting, and we definitely honored my mother all the way through it.” My Big Fat Fabulous Life premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.