Why did TLC film Babs' funeral? 'My Big Fat Fabulous Life' star Whitney Thore wanted to mourn mom's death 'publicly'
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA: 'My Big Fat Fabulous Life' Season 11 filmed Whitney Way Thore's mother Barbara "Babs" Thore's funeral.
TLC reached out to the reality star to film the funeral as the crew members knew Babs was someone who was loved publicly.
People reported that Whitney was asked by the crew members to film her funeral.
She said, "When my mom was dying, she was in the ICU for about a month and we expected that she would die."
TLC star added, "And my executive producer had reached out to me very sensitively and said, would you like us to film this?"
In order to confirm whether they should film the funeral or not, Whitney asked her father about it.
Whitney claimed, "I asked my dad, and my dad immediately said yes. The way that he kind of thinks about it is that my mother was someone who was loved very publicly and that she should be mourned publicly. He, like, inserted Princess Diana or the Queen of England, all that."
Whitney Thore felt supported after cast members attended Babs' funeral
Despite being irritated with crew members being around during Babs' death, Whitney felt supported.
She said, "We have one crew member who's been with us for 10 out of the 11 seasons. So it felt actually just supportive to have them there."
She then explained, "And I didn't really notice them filming it actually. So it was just easier, rather harder."
Whitney is excited for the new season as this will pay tribute to her mother and almost the entire storyline is to revolve around how Whitney's family managed to overcome the death of Babs.
She claims, 'It'll be the first season without my mom, and it starts with her funeral, so that's going to be really difficult I think for us as a family to watch."
How did Whitney Thore's mom Barbara 'Babs' Thore die?
Babs died on December 7, 2022, because of cerebral amyloid angiopathy.
She was going through an untreatable progressive condition, that generally causes brain bleeding, stroke, and dementia.
Babs began having strokes in 2017 and the most recent one happened on November 13, 2022.
After the death of their mother, Whitney took to social media to inform to her fans. She uploaded a video saying, "Rest In Peace, Sweet Mommy. June 22, 1946—December 7, 2022."
She then explained how her mother died, "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. It was 10.32pm, the same exact time she brought me into this world almost forty years ago,' she added.
The reality star explained, "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 added, "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," she added.
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Whitney called her mother to be "family's greatest gift." She then referred to Babs' fans, "If you’re reading this, you’re familiar with her magic: her southern charm, her hilarious sense of humor, her well-timed witty remarks, her 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."
She added, "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.” 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."
Describing Babs' TV career Whitney wrote, "We want to thank you for loving our mother. She delighted in her newfound television career more than we can describe! It gave her such a sense of purpose and excitement and something to look forward to every time the crew came around."
Whitney ended the post, "This last year navigating life after her second stroke was, perhaps surprisingly, the best of our lives. We never had more fun or laughed as much as we did the past year. The support from all of you made her feel so loved and encouraged. We are unbelievably thankful that we’ve been able to share her with you and it is our 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 ours. I love you, Mommy."
'My Big Fat Fabulous Life' showcases how Glenn Thore copes with Babs' death
TLC's 'My Big Fat Fabulous Life' Season 11 will show how Whitney helped her father Glenn get past her mother's death.
Whitney says, "And now that she's gone, I told dad, ‘You're going to have big shoes to fill.’ And I think he actually did."
Whitney wanted her father to enjoy his life and find other reasons to live "because he (Glenn) literally said to Whitney that he did not want to live without Whitney's mother."
Indeed, Whitney will make an adventurous to-do list for her father to try in the new season.
'My Big Fat Fabulous Life' Season 11 will premiere on Tuesday, September 5 at 9 pm ET on TLC.