Barbara Thore, the mother of My Big Fat Fabulous Life star Whitney Thore, has died at age 76.
Whitney shared the somber news of her mother’s death in an Instagram post on Thursday that featured a slide show of loving photos of the two, along with a recording of the mother-daughter duo speaking.
The reality star revealed that Barbara suffered from cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which apparently led to multiple strokes in her later years, the most recent of which occurred in November.
Whitney noted that her mother Barbara — who was born on June 22, 1946 — had died after a final viewing of her favorite film, although she did not share the title.
Saying goodbye: My Big Fat Fabulous Life star Whitney Thore revealed on Instagram on Wednesday that her mother Barbara Thore had died on Wednesday at age 76
‘My mother died last night just as the credits rolled on her favorite movie. Dad, Hunter, and I held her as she took her last breaths,’ she wrote. ‘It was 10:32pm, the same exact time she brought me into this world almost forty years ago.’
Her lengthy caption detailed the health issues Barbara had struggled with in recent years.
‘My mom had cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which is an untreatable progressive condition caused by proteins in the blood vessels of the brain that can cause dementia, seizures, or like in my mom’s case, brain bleeding (hemorrhagic strokes),’ she explained.
‘When mom had her first stroke in 2017, we were told of this and we knew that more strokes would eventually be inevitable. Mom’s second stroke was December 28, 2021 and her last was November 13, 2022.’
Together at the end: ‘My mother died last night just as the credits rolled on her favorite movie. Dad, Hunter, and I held her as she took her last breaths,’ she wrote. ‘It was 10:32pm, the same exact time she brought me into this world almost forty years ago’
Health struggles: Whitney wrote that her mother suffered from cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which led to a series of strokes beginning in 2017, the most recent of which occurred in November
In the moving statement, Whitney described Barbara as her ‘family’s greatest gift,’ adding that they ‘could never love, revere, or value another person more.’
She also praised her late mother’ssouthern charm,’ ‘hilarious sense of humor,’ ‘well-timed witty remarks,’ ‘beauty,’ and ‘her ability to make everyone around her feel comfortable and cared for.’
‘But what you can’t possibly understand is the extent of my mother’s love — what you may have witnessed and felt through a TV screen is a minute fraction that, even if multiplied by a million, wouldn’t come close to “real life “‘ she continued. ‘That’s how enormous, how generous, and how all-encompassing my mother’s love was. I am the luckiest person on the planet to have been hers for almost 39 years.’
While thanking fans for their interest in seeing Barbara on her reality series, Whitney wrote that she ‘delighted in her newfound television career more than we can describe,’ which ‘gave her such a sense of purpose and excitement and something to look forward to every time the crew came around.’
Sweet: ‘This last year navigating life after her second stroke was, perhaps surprisingly, the best of our lives,’ Whitney continued. ‘We never had more fun or laughed as much as we did last year’
Family: Her slideshow included a variety of photos of her mother over the years, including some youthful snaps of her at her most glamorous, including a picture of her holding a baby that was either Whitney or her brother Hunter
Beaming: Other images showed her after her strokes, when she required a wheelchair to get around; Barbara pictured with her husband Glenn
‘This last year navigating life after her second stroke was, perhaps surprisingly, the best of our lives,’ she continued. ‘We never had more fun or laughed as much as we did last year.’
She added that it was her family’s hope that her memory will continue to be a source of comfort and happiness for the rest of your lives, just as it will be for us.
Whitney concluded with a final message to Barbara: ‘I love you, Mommy.’
Her slideshow featured a variety of photos of her mother over the years, including some youthful snaps of her at her most glamorous and a picture of her holding a baby that may have been Whitney or her brother Hunter.
Other images showed her after her strokes, when she required a wheelchair to get around.
The audio included a conversation between Whitney and Barbara that sounded as if it was recorded later in her life.
‘You’re just a gift, is what you are,’ Whitney gushed to her mother. ‘I’ll never get over how much I love you!’ she continued, adding, ‘I am just so lucky that we get to be together.’
Cute: The audio included a conversation between Whitney and Barbara that sounded as if it was recorded later in her life. ‘You’re just a gift, is what you are,’ Whitney gushed to her mother. ‘I’ll never get over how much I love you!’ she continued, adding, ‘I am just so lucky that we get to be together’
Audiences were introduced to Whitney and her mother back in 2015 with the premiere of My Big Fat Fabulous Life on TLC.
The series, which aired its tenth season finale in October 2022, featured Barbara prominently in every season.
The show documented Whitney’s struggles with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which initially led her to gain over 100 pounds in just a few years.
Although she subsequently shed a significant portion of that weight, she has stressed on and off the series that she is more focused on her mental health and learning to accept her body than on her weight or size.
In addition to her daughter, Barbara is also survived by her husband Glenn and their son Hunter, both of whom are regular presences on the reality series.
Familiar face: Barbara, who is survived by Whitney, her husband Glenn and her son Hunter, appeared on all 10 seasons of My Big Fat Fabulous life, which is still on the air; seen with Whitney in 2015
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