Whitney Way Thore is ready for the big, fat, fabulous road to motherhood.
Whitney, who has been a star on My Big Fat Fabulous Life since 2015, has often shared her wish to become a mother. Now, she’s taking the first step toward making that dream a reality through artificial insemination.
The 41-year-old admitted in a sneak peek for the July 8 episode, via People, “Things are getting really real. I’m about to inseminate myself and hope it works. It feels crazy, but there’s no turning back now.”
Although she had previously taken steps to protect her fertility, Whitney described the experience of seeing her plan finally move forward as surreal, noting that she felt “nervous” alongside a wave of other emotions.
“It was one thing to have my eggs frozen, but this is completely different,” she explained. “This is the most deliberate step I’ve ever taken to try to get pregnant, and it feels strange to be doing it on my own.”
The TLC star’s decision comes a year after she confessed her worries about possibly never becoming a mother once she hit 40, while also admitting she wondered if it just wasn’t meant to happen.
“I was like, ‘Who cares? Turning 40? Whatever,’” she recalled to E! News in July 2024. “Then I turned 40, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, 40.’ I hate to sound like that kind of person—I didn’t think I would. But for women, there are some harsh realities that men just don’t face.”
Whitney—who has polycystic ovarian syndrome, the condition that caused her to gain 200 pounds in a single year during college—added, “I’m really feeling the weight of being 40, unmarried, and without kids.”
Whitney’s PCOS diagnosis has meant she’s had to carefully monitor her fertility. At the time, she revealed that her doctor reassured her she still had “a few more years” to consider IVF, but she was also wrestling with uncertainty about her personal life.
“I want a partner. I know I could do it on my own, but honestly, I wouldn’t,” she admitted. “Of course, life can take unexpected turns and you might end up a single mom, but I don’t feel confident starting out that way. I keep thinking, if I can’t meet the right man—or any man—what are the chances I’ll be ready to have a baby in two or three years?”
In the end, Whitney acknowledged that, deep down, becoming a mother was something she truly wanted.
“Even if you’re not certain about wanting kids—or it isn’t taken away from you suddenly—you still grieve the idea that it may never happen,” she reflected. “I’ve been trying to prepare myself for the possibility that it won’t, so I can make peace with it. And if it does happen, then it’ll just be a wonderful surprise.”