Since its debut in 2012, TLC’s ‘My 600-lb Life’ has featured the motivational testimonies of several extremely obese people who need assistance to lead healthier lifestyles. The series showcases several phases of these journeys, during which the contestants must adhere to a rigorous calorie-restricted diet and perform exercises that Dr. Now prescribes. Dr. Younan Nowzaradan AKA Dr. Now, a well-known bariatric surgeon, serves as their mentor. He supports them as they try and reduce their weight to the required level to qualify for bariatric treatment.
Many cast members enter the reality show with various personalities and experiences, but weight loss is a common goal. Others who live with such severely overweight people eventually develop this problem themselves. Charly Pierce was one such person who made her appearance with Charity Pierce, her 778-pound mother, in season 3. Supporting her mother through a long, difficult period, Charly made quite an impressive connection with the viewers, who must be wondering where she is now. If you’re curious to know about her whereabouts, too, here’s what we found out!
Charly Pierce’s My 600-lb Life Journey
Charly Jo Pierce is the daughter of Charity Pierce, a 39-year-old mother who weighed 778lbs and entirely depended on Charly. She had to help her mother with every little work, which began with getting up from bed and walking to the portable toilet to help her sleep at night. Charly begins by helping her mother bathe with a sponge and constantly worries about her health and life. She also shares eating habits similar to her mother’s and can be seen eating all kinds of junk food with her mother. Thus, she also ended up weighing 390 pounds.
While Charity was undergoing her weight loss program, she went through several traumas, like losing her mother and finding that her fiancé was cheating on her with her sister. Thus, Charity started depending on painkillers and alcohol and ended up damaging her relationship with her daughter. Charly slowly became distant from her mother, although she still helped her in her journey. However, once Charity realized she needed to get back on track, she also began mending her relationship with Charly.
Over time, Charly also got determined to lose weight and thus decided to leave her mother in Houston for her “own health and mental well-being.” She wanted to get away from the distress of looking at her mother’s condition and started living alone and working on reducing her weight.
Charly Pierce is Focusing on Her Health and Career Today
Living away from her mother proved to be a good decision for Charly because she successfully reduced her weight to 200 pounds, losing an astonishing 95 pounds. However, while appearing in the follow-up ‘Where Are They Now?’ episode, Charly made a few clarifications. She wrote a social media post saying, “I didn’t eat actual food for two months,” referring to her bariatric surgery, which helped her lose 80 to 90% of her stomach. She also asserted, “I’ve never abandoned anyone” talking about her move to Iowa without her mother to live on her own.
Charly added that she was happy about her decision because her mother began to improve her health independently without requiring anyone’s help. She was proud of her mother, who was no longer dependent on Charly for her daily needs. She also learned to steer clear of food addictions once she was able to reduce her weight, as she saw her mother’s life being consumed because of that. Later, both Charity and Charly moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, beginning a new and healthy life.
For Charity, although she faced a major challenge with her kidney cancer diagnosis in 2019, she, however, remains positive after getting her kidney removed. In September 2020, Charly updated about her mother, saying, “My mom’s away to better herself. She’s had some struggles but is doing great now. That’s as far as I’m going to comment about that.” Charly now works as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Home Health Care.
Charly also got engaged to her boyfriend, Michael Marple, in August 2021, who works at the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and RJ Automotive. The couple also has an adorable daughter named Maya, who was born in May 2022. Thus, we wish the happy couple more love and success in the future ahead.