1000-Lb. Sisters star Tammy Slaton’s husband, Caleb Willingham, has died. He was 40.
Willingham’s stepmother, Shirley Willingham, confirmed the TLC star’s passing to TMZ on Saturday, July 1. No further details about Caleb’s death have been revealed.
Slaton, 36, subsequently broke her silence on Caleb’s death in an emotional Instagram post. “Rip sweet angel you will forever be missed and loved so much,” she wrote on Saturday, alongside throwback photos of the pair. “Thank you Caleb for showing me real love and happiness ❤️❤️.”
Slaton met Caleb when they were both patients at a rehab facility in Ohio in 2021, where they were being treated for obesity-related issues.
“You know the other day, Tammy actually saved my life,” he revealed to their fellow Windsor Lane Rehabilitation Center patients in a March episode of 1000-Lb. Sisters. “I was out of oxygen. I was sitting her hurting, in pain, tears falling down my face, and she got help. It meant the world to me because you showed kindness.”
Caleb later revealed in the scene that it was Slaton’s weight loss journey that inspired him to check into the Windsor Lane program. “Just hearing about how well somebody was able to do [made me take the plunge],” he added.
The pair wed one year later in November 2022 at the facility.
“It was the best day of our lives,” Slaton — who costars with sister Amy Slaton on 1000-Lb. Sisters — gushed to E! News in January. “There was so much love in the room. I’m thankful that so many family members and our family from the rehab were able to come. … When we had our first kiss he leaned forward and hit the control switch and drove right into me knocking me back into my wheelchair!”
Following their nuptials, Tammy underwent gastric bypass surgery with Caleb by her side.
“We support each other wholeheartedly,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in February. “On our weight loss journeys, when he’s having issues with wanting to eat because he’s bored or because he’s an emotional eater, he comes to me and we talk about the situation. It’s the same for me and I talk to him. We talk about our issues and why we feel this way. We are true partners.”
Tammy added at the time: “He treats me so different from any other person I was with. He truly was a godsend [through my weight-loss efforts].”
Caleb is survived by wife Tammy and his parents.
