1000-lb Sisters star Tammy Slaton experienced a devastating loss when her husband, Caleb Willingham, died at the age of 40 on June 30, 2023. The pair had just tied the knot in November 2022 when she found out that he had passed.
“I am devastated to share the news of my husband’s passing,” Slaton said in a statement at the time. “He was my best friend and I loved him dearly. When I met Caleb he became my guardian angel and now he really is watching over me.”
Scroll down for everything we know about Slaton’s relationship with her late husband and how he died.
How did Caleb Willingham die?
Willingham died from “natural causes” due to “complications of super morbid obesity,” according to an autopsy report obtained by In Touch.
At the time of Willingham’s death, Slaton was in the dark about what actually happened. “At first, they told me it was, like, a heart attack because he was working out,” she said on 1000-lb Sisters. “But everything is up in the air until I get the autopsy back.”
Slaton received the news about her husband via a friend. “I got a text message from his friend [in rehab] and the text said, ‘Caleb’s not doing good. They’re in there working on him.’ Twenty minutes later he texted me back and said he was gone,” the TLC star told People.
How did Tammy Slaton meet her husband?
The two met at the Windsor Lane Rehabilitation Center in Ohio. They both struggled with obesity and were patients at the center to focus on their weight loss journeys. Willingham proposed in October 2022 after just three weeks of dating, and the sweet moment was documented on a March 2023 episode of 1000-lb Sisters.
“We’re engaged,” Slaton shared in a clip from the episode. “I know it’s only been three weeks but I’ve never felt this way about anybody. The last two relationships I was never this happy.” Meanwhile, Willingham revealed the couple’s plans to “get married” and “have a couple of kids.”
Did Tammy Slaton actually marry Caleb?
Yes, the couple tied the knot at the rehab center on November 19, 2022. “Our wedding day was perfect,” she told People one month later. “There was so much love in the room. I literally married my best friend.”
After her significant weight loss, Slaton was able to leave the treatment center in February 2023 and return home to Kentucky. However, Willingham had not lost enough weight to have weight loss surgery yet, so he remained back at the rehabilitation center.
Were Tammy Slaton and Caleb together when he died?
At the time of Willingham’s death, it was reported that he and Slaton were separated. A few days later, she confirmed in a since-deleted, emotional TikTok video that they had been dealing with some issues when Willingham died. However, she was still devastated by the news of his passing.
“I’m in the stages of grief,” Slaton told her followers. “Yeah, we were having problems, but I loved that man and I still do. I miss him like crazy but I wanted to thank everybody for your comments.”
She did not specify what was going on between her and her husband and said it was too “personal” to share.
1000-lb Sisters, Season 7 Premiere, Tuesday, April 15, 9/8c, TLC
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