A major loss. Destinee LaShaee, the first transgender star of My 600-Lb. Life, has died. She was 30 years old.
The TLC personality’s brother Wayne Compton confirmed the news via Facebook.
“No no no I’m sorry bro, I accept you for who you are, I accept every flaw that come with you, I’m sorry you felt alone, I’m sorry you felt you had nobody else to turn too,” Compton wrote. “I’m sorry you felt you had no other option Destiny wouldn’t of wanted this, lord why keep taking my siblings away, how much can I take💔💔💔.”
While no cause of death has been revealed, Destinee, who was born Matthew Ventress, was candid about mental health struggles during season 7 of My 600-Lb. Life, which aired in 2019.
“I just lay here all day and wait for food. I don’t see any of my family and friends, unless they come to see me,” she said on the episode. “I feel like all I’m constantly doing is trying to escape my depression and pain at this point. Food is the only thing I can turn to to do that. I can feel it killing me.”
Destinee felt she was at her “breaking point,” weighing 668 pounds at the time.
“I need to be able to get help, I need to be able to lose this weight or they’re going to be burying me next because I don’t think I can live until next year being this big,” she said. “At this rate, I give myself a couple months.”
According to the Daily Mail, Destinee dropped nearly 500 pounds by 2021. She posted a series of snaps in a form-fitting dress on January 30 via Instagram, writing, “Gracefully Broken.”
Destinee is sadly not the first former My 600-Lb. Life star to die in recent years. Lisa Fleming, Gina Krasley and Robert Buchel are among the 10 other reality TV alums who have passed away since the 2012 premiere of the series.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
