How Is Irene From 'My 600-lb Life' Doing Now? Here's an Update on Her Journey

For those who watch My 600-Life, one of the most frustrating parts of the TLC series is that it often ends with a cliffhanger. Viewers become emotionally invested in the journeys of the morbidly obese individuals featured on the series — only to be left wondering how they're doing today. Irene Walker's journey was no different.

So how is Irene doing now? Let's take a deep dive into her story, and then investigate whether she was finally able to have weight loss surgery.

My 600-lb Life fans were introduced to Irene Walker, 39, of Houston, Tex., on an episode that premiered on March 10, 2021.

"My daily life is such a struggle now because of how my size has gotten," Irene explained on the show. "It's hard for me to do things because of my weight, so I rely on my family and friends to help me do what I have to do ... I'm able to still get around and do some basic things for myself, like cleaning myself on my own still. So I push myself to do that. But it's hard."

Irene lives in an apartment with her son, niece, and daughter-in-law because she wasn't able to take care of herself anymore.

"Eating is what I do most of the day. It's the only thing that brings me the pleasure that I want. It's what I look forward to constantly," she said. "When I'm eating, it helps me forget everything else and block out a lot. You know, because when I have any of my favorite foods, all the hurt in me is taken away until the food is gone."

Food became a source of comfort for Irene when her mother left her abusive father. It continued to be her coping mechanism when she had an abusive partner herself as a teenager, got pregnant, and became a single mom at 17.

In the span of two years as a young adult, Irene lost her dad, mom, older sister, and aunt. She ended up living in a women and children's shelter, but she was kicked out because she got pregnant. Irene went on to have three more children after that.

Eventually, Irene turned to alcohol and drugs in addition to food as coping mechanisms. CPS took her three youngest away from her because of her substance addictions.

"I was devastated, and I actually lost my mind," she explained. "But it led me to a wake-up call. I got clean and sober for my kids, then. But when I got rid of those addictions, it led me right back to food."

During her first visit with Dr. Now, Irene weighed in at 603 pounds. He gave her the goal of losing 60 pounds over the next two months.

At first, Irene seemed motivated to make serious changes in her eating habits. However, when she followed up with Dr. Now, Irene had only lost 5 pounds.

"You either want to save your life or you don't," he told her. "So you need to decide if your life is more important than that food."

The bariatric surgeon again gave her a weight loss goal of 60 pounds. If she could do that, then he would allow her to move ahead with weight loss surgery. Unfortunately, Irene only lost 7 pounds two months later. The goal remained the same at that point: lose 60 pounds in two months.

Irene didn't follow up with Dr. Now until seven months later because of COVID-19 restrictions. On a video call, Dr. Now decided to give her one last chance to get back on track with her weight loss.

Irene needed to weigh around 540 pounds the next time she came to see Dr. Now in order for him to approve her for weight loss surgery.

One year and two months into her weight loss journey, Irene weighed in at 535 pounds — meaning she lost 68 pounds in total and had met her goal.

"Irene, I'm proud of you, and I'm going to approve you for weight loss surgery," Dr. Now told her.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions surrounding elective medical procedures, Dr. Now wasn't able to have Irene immediately scheduled for surgery. While they were working on getting the procedure set up ASAP, he instructed her to keep working toward losing 10 pounds per month.

Considering Irene had made so much progress by the end of her My 600-lb Life episode, viewers wanted to know if she was finally able to have weight loss surgery — and if she continued to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Unfortunately, there's not much information about how Irene is doing now. What's available on her public Facebook profile doesn't include any updates concerning her weight loss, aside from a profile photo that was uploaded on Jan. 13, 2021.

Hopefully, once Irene is permitted by TLC to share more information about how she's doing now, My 600-lb Life viewers will be able to receive an update about her weight loss journey. We wish her the best!