Ashley Dunn Bratcher's story from TLC's "My 600-lb Life" is a memorable one, showcasing a breathtaking weight loss journey fueled by willpower, strength, and an unwavering commitment to her family. Her transformation is a testament to the power of determination and the importance of addressing the emotional roots of obesity.
Early Life and Weight Gain
Bratcher began gaining weight at a young age, reportedly following a harrowing childhood. The show revealed in 2016 that Ashley was sexually abused by her babysitter’s husband. After two decades, she dealt with the aftermath through food. Additionally, Ashley dealt with her mother’s drug addiction as a child. “If my mother had been paying attention I think she could’ve changed a lot of stuff that was going on,” she added. “But as the oldest one, I felt like I had to protect my brother and sister because they were really little. So I let it happen to me, so it wouldn’t happen to them,” she explained. By the time Ashley went on My 600-Lb Life, she was reportedly 725 pounds.
When Kerens, Texas, native Ashley Dunn Bratcher appeared in season 4 in 2016, she was 27-year-old and weighed around 725 pounds. She lived with her husband, Jacob, a long-haul truck driver, and her 5-year-old son, Patrick. Because of her weight, Ashley was completely dependent on the two of them for everything around her house except bathing. On the show, a devastated Ashley said, “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t have pain. It’s gotten so bad now that I’m afraid I’ll be completely immobile soon. I’m good to stand for maybe five minutes.” Ashley’s uncontrollable relationship with food began at a very early age, stemming from her childhood traumas. Ashley and her siblings were dropped off at their babysitter’s home for long hours. She added that when she was 6, she was repeatedly molested by the babysitter’s husband. As the eldest among the siblings, Ashley felt responsible for them, remained silent throughout such traumatic times, and instead turned to food for escape. Food became her only comfort, and although they were later taken in by their father, a safer environment could not change her relationship with food. Thus, due to such severe emotional damage, her weight reached up to 400 pounds by the time she graduated high school and kept increasing with time. It became a constant cycle of eating huge meals, being depressed about her weight, and then eating again out of her misery. Ashley was shattered by her own situation since she could not take care of her son and instead had to be dependent on him. Thus, she decided to make her journey to Dr. Now in Houston and get into better shape to live a healthier life with her husband and son.
Ashley Dunn Bratcher's story on TLC's "My 600-lb Life" starts out similarly to many others on the show: she turned to food as a coping mechanism and a source of happiness when she was very young. Her unstable home life with her drug-addicted mom and sexual abuse at the hands of her babysitter's husband, as she explained on the show, caused her to gain a lot of weight. She was already 250 pounds by 6th grade and weighed 400 pounds when she graduated high school. She continued gaining weight while happily married to her husband Jacob, and despite losing 95 pounds after the birth of her son Patrick, she fell back into old habits and continued gaining weight.
From the outside, it was quite difficult to understand how Ashley ended up in this negative spiral. After all, she married her high school sweetheart and they were blessed with a beautiful son. But when Ashley opened up about her childhood in the retrospective that starts every episode, it all made sense.
Read also: Inspiring Weight Loss Journey
The "My 600-lb Life" Journey
Ashley Bratcher entered TLC’s “My 600-lb Life” in 2016, she weighed in at just over 725 pounds. As with every patient on the reality series, the Texas gal sought the help of Dr. Younan Nowzaradan. Ashley’s weight made it almost impossible for her to move. ”He’s my legs, he helps me with just about everything. “The normal things that everybody does are just impossible for me to do because of my size,” Ashley said.
Dr. Nowzaradan, a weight loss surgeon who specializes in obese patients, put Ashley on a calorie-restricted weight loss program to begin with. The results came immediately as the highly motivated Ashley lost a whopping 123 pounds. After that, the doctor approved that Ashley could go through with gastric bypass surgery. The operation was successful, but then Ashley had some setbacks. Four months after her surgery, she was rushed to the hospital and had to remove an ulcer and her gallbladder. But by the end of her inspiring journey, Ashley had lost 255 pounds and regained control of her life.
Dr. Ashley took his advice quite seriously and managed to lose a surprising 123 pounds, much more than what she was asked. She then got done with the gastric bypass surgery and was advised against under-eating, so she didn’t lose essential nutrients. There were some bumps along the road after that, like a time when Ashley overdosed on painkillers leading to hospitalization from ulcer formation. She also had to undergo a gallbladder operation during her time at the hospital. Ashley Dunn Bratcher kept maintaining her balanced diet, and her weight had come down from 725 to 397 pounds at the end of the show. Elated at her own triumph, Ashley was determined to continue the process meticulously and did so too. Thus, she eventually got much healthier to move about easily and take care of her son as she always wanted.
Fortunately, she proved herself to Dr. Younan Nowzaradan and she received gastric bypass surgery to help in her weight loss journey. But she knows how important it is to put in the hard work necessary. "Whoever says weight-loss surgery is the easy way out is crazy because this has really been one of the hardest things I've ever done," Ashley told People in 2017. "This surgery is just a tool.
Ashley Dunn Bratcher's gastric bypass surgery, a weight loss surgery that involves making a small pouch from the stomach and connecting it to the small intestine, helped immensely. While it may be easy to assume that gastric bypass surgery is the reason why Bratcher was able to lose so much weight on the show, she's said that she had to do the hard work herself. "This surgery is just a tool. It does not change your mindset," she told People.
Read also: Bratcher's Weight Loss Story
Weight Loss and Continued Efforts
After two years of filming for My 600 Lb Life and working with Dr. Now, Ashley shed a total of 350 pounds, or over 48% of her peak body weight.
Ashley lost 350 pounds - over 48% of her body weight - during the two years of filming the show, per Starcasm.
Ashley appeared in the follow-up episode on ‘Where Are They Now?’ in 2018 and gave an update on her weight loss journey. In that episode, she underwent excess skin and fat removal surgery to get rid of those excess parts. Later, she happily announced that her weight had come down to 300 pounds.
It’s no surprise that losing as much weight as Bratcher did would be difficult to do. Healthy weight loss is a process that doesn’t happen overnight, and changes to one's body can certainly affect someone emotionally, as well.
Ashley Dunn Bratcher has reportedly kept off most (if not all) of the weight that she lost while on My 600-lb Life with Dr. Now. Back in 2016, Bratcher posted a photo collage of "then" and "now" photos of herself on Instagram for "Transformation Tuesday." The more recent image showed Bratcher in a red shirt and glasses, smiling. She seemed to be a much healthier version of herself than she was in the other photos, in which she appeared to be at a much heavier weight.
Read also: Ashley Gold: Basketball, Body Image, and Beyond
In 2018, Ashley shared in an update she had trouble keeping off the weight she previously lost. “I just ended up giving in to gaining again, and then had to get back on track,” she said at the time. But she remained hopeful regarding how far she had come.
Coping Mechanisms and a Focus on Mental Health
Emotional eating is something that people of all shapes and sizes battle, according to a wealth of research. Fortunately for Ashley Dunn Bratcher from My 600-lb Life, she has found several ways to combat turning "to food to deal with it all," as she previously said she did on My 600-lb Life. "What I've found that helps me is when I do get that craving, I try to think about that and think about what I'm feeling," she told People. "If it's true hunger, then, you know, I'll eat something.
Ashley also talked to People about her ways to stay on track. She added, “If it’s true hunger, then, you know, I’ll eat something. But if I’m feeling angry, happy, sad, I try to revert my mind to something else. I go for a walk. I play with my dogs. I might journal. It’s a learning experience.”
There are tons of ways that Ashley Dunn Bratcher from My 600-lb Life battles emotional eating. One of those ways is through journaling. For Bratcher, journaling is part of self-growth. "I go for a walk. I play with my dogs. I might journal," she told People. There's a lot of research that suggests just how good journaling is for your health. Research led by psychologist Dr. James W. Pennebaker from University of Texas, Austin, who has led several studies regarding the topic, found that journaling about your feelings may help those writing better process trauma, as reported by Harvard Medical School.
One way, as she told People, is to be honest with herself about what she's feeling. "If it's true hunger, then, you know, I'll eat something," she explains. "But if I'm feeling angry, happy, sad, I try to revert my mind to something else. I go for a walk. I play with my dogs. I might journal.
Life Beyond Weight Loss: Family, Interests, and Social Media
Ashley Dunn Bratcher from My 600-lb Life isn't only a proud mother of her son, Patrick, but she's also a mom to a few fur babies. According to the reality television star's Instagram page, she appears to have two dogs and a cat. At least one of Bratcher's dogs, Brindle, is a pit-mix, according to an Instagram post, and the pup seems to be as comfortable in front of the camera as the reality television star is herself. As for her cat, she's dressed that pet up on at least one occasion, showing the cute ball of fluff in a gold T-shirt in one Instagram photo. And it does not appear that the cat exactly loves being dressed up.
Ashley Dunn Bratcher from My 600-lb Life is a family woman - that much is clear. She appeared to be especially close with her "nana," according to her social media. I need to do it more often. Sadly, Bratcher's grandmother has since passed away. More [than] I'd like to admit.
Bratcher and her son seem to have a very loving relationship. She is constantly posting photos of Patrick and has called him her world. In an episode after Bratcher lost significant weight, she talked about being able to finally be there for her son, as opposed to him always having to offer her a helping hand.
It's not uncommon for women to gain weight during pregnancy and even after childbirth. In fact, research published in Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America in 2009 suggests that the childbearing years for women may result in substantial weight gain that can even lead to the development of obesity. Maintaining a healthy weight during and after pregnancy is a struggle for many women. After giving birth to Patrick, however, Ashley Dunn Bratcher from My 600-lb Life actually lost 95 pounds, according to a tweet from TLC in April 2017.
Like many Americans, Ashley Dunn Bratcher from My 600-lb Life is a big NFL fan. She appears to love football, tuning in to watch games when her favorite team is playing. Her favorite team? And not only does she watch the team on television every year, but one year her son, Patrick, even got to play on the Dallas Cowboys field. In 2017, Bratcher shared a photo of him in his football uniform at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
Ashley and her family are also huge fans of the NFL, and the Dallas Cowboys team is the favorite of this Texan native. She often shows support to the team on her social media and even shared that they watch them every year. Not just that, Ashley also excitedly shared that Patrick once got to play on the Dallas Cowboys field. The mother of one posted a photo in 2017 and wrote, “My little man turns 8 today and he’s getting to play on the Dallas Cowboys field.
The couple celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary in June 2022.
As for her Instagram content, Ashley’s last post was a selfie in January 2020.
Where is Ashley Now?
Since her participation in ”My 600-Lb Life”, there’s not been much news concerning Ashley. But in 2018, she appeared in an episode of “Where Are They Now” - the last public update from her life. In the episode, Ashley revealed that she had undergone surgery to remove excess skin, something that hampered her movement and self-confidence. She also announced that she weighed under 300 pounds, and that she had been forced to buy new outfits that fit her.
In 2021, she hasn’t posted much about her weight. It appears she currently lives with her family in Kemp, Texas.