Tammy and Amy Slaton photographed in Nashville, Tenn. on Dec 4, 2023.Photo:Diana King
Diana King
Since getting weight loss surgery in 2019,Amy Slatonhas lost 176 lbs. — and her healthier lifestyle helped make her dream of becoming a mother come true — but the1,000-Lb Sistersstar now says she’s focusing on her mental health rather than her physical size.
“You can’t have weight loss without mental health,” she tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview in this week’s issue.
After a tumultuous year in which Amy went through a divorce from her husband of six years,Michael Halterman(the two are parents to sons sonsGage Deon, 3, andGlenn Allen, 1), her mental health was “the worst it’s ever been,” says Amy, 36. “And it wasn’t just affecting me, it was affecting Gage and Glenn. So it was just rough.”
Amy Slaton and Michael Halterman in happier times.Amy Slaton/Instagram
In their rocky marriage, “there was no support. There was no love. There was no kindness. There was just mental abuse,” says Amy, who recently shared with her social media followers that she’s in a new relationship with boyfriendTony Rodgers.
Amy finally realized how serious her mental health issues were after a massive blow-up between herself and her sisters Amanda andTammyduring a trip to Florida over the summer. “That’s not the person I am,” she says of the confrontation, which will feature sometime during the TLC reality show’s fifth season, which premiered this week. “That is not the person I want to be,”
Amy Slaton photographed for PEOPLE, Dec. 4, 2023.Diana King
That fight prompted Amy to seek help. “I’ve said I’m not a therapy person — I said, ‘I will never go to therapy,'” Amy says. “But I went to therapy. And I’m happier.”
She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, depression and acute stress disorder, “which is like PTSD from the whole stuff going on with Michael,” she says. “It’s a relief to know that I’m not crazy. It was something totally different. I’m not just snapping because I’m snapping. I’m snapping because I’m bipolar.”
Amy Slaton with sons Gage and Glenn in October 2023.TLC
TLC
Her boysseem to have benefitted: “Once once you’re calm, the babies are usually calm,” she says. Her sister Tammy says the difference is noticeable: “I think the kids are even happier now. Gage, he has anxiety I guess, and when he gets really overwhelmed, he starts crying and holding his ears. So he don’t do that very often anymore.” Adds Amy: “He was doing a lot there for a while.”
And, she says, she makes sure to expose them to healthy foods. “Gage will eat Brussel sprouts. He’ll eat broccoli. He’ll eat cauliflower. He’ll eat all of that,” she says, although she admits “he prefers chicken nuggets and french fries!” And Glenn, she says, is happy to try new and different foods.
Her hopes for the boys, she says, are simple: “I want them to learn how to be good guys. I want them to learn as much as they can, soak up all that knowledge. I don’t want them to be on the streets one day. I want them to actually be contributing members of society.”For more on Tammy and Amy Slaton, pick up this week’s issue, on stands now.
source: people.com
