Is Whitney Thore Still With the Frenchman? The 'MBFFL' Star Shared Her Dating Status (EXCLUSIVE)

Season 9 of TLC's My Big Fat Fabulous Life introduced viewers to Whitney Thore's new love interest: the Frenchman. Whitney and her mystery guy — whose face is blurred and name omitted from the TLC show to protect his privacy — hit it off on a language exchange app, and their relationship gradually became more flirty.

By the end of Season 9, Whitney was embarking on a trip to the City of Light to finally meet her beau face-to-face.

Now that MBFFL returned for Season 12 in July 2024, fans are curious: Is Whitney still with the Frenchman? In an exclusive interview before the MBFFL Season 12 premiere, she revealed where they stand now.

In Season 10 of My Big Fat Fabulous Life, Whitney shared that she and the Frenchman were navigating their long-distance relationship. She admitted that they implemented a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy that offered them a pass to explore other options in their respective countries.

By the Season 11 premiere, Whitney confirmed that, after months of being on-again and off-again, she and the Frenchman said "au revoir" for a final time.

The TLC star said during the premiere that she was still in love with the Frenchman, even though they couldn't make things work. She confirmed to Distractify that she feels the same way months after shooting the new season.

"I would still be in that relationship if it were up to me," Whitney told us.

Although she wishes the relationship could've worked, Whitney hasn't given up on finding a reason to add a stamp to her passport. The reality star said she still believes long-distance, even cross-continental relationships can work, so long as there's an end goal in mind.

"They have their own challenges," she explains of long-distance romances. "And I do think you need like a finish line. When does the separation end?"

"But maybe it's just because I've been through so much and I'm still single, but if there's an ocean between us, I don't care; FaceTime me," she added. "[Distance] really doesn't faze me at all. Not for the right person."

In November 2021, Whitney took to Instagram to share about her trip to meet the Frenchman in person for the first time. "I spent six weeks in Paris," she captioned a post featuring photos of her travels. "I did fall in love. I am in a relationship and I’m incredibly happy!"

As producers did in the show, Whitney made sure to blur out the Frenchman's face in her photos in order to protect his privacy. (He doesn't want his identity publicly known because of the terrible threats Chase Severino fielded online after he and Whitney broke up. And who could blame him?)

After their first in-person date, those who follow Whitney on Instagram assumed that she and the Frenchman had broken up, considering she hadn't posted any photos of them together in months.

Now that she's finally confirmed she's a single lady, fans will see her begrudgingly moving forward from the relationship and dating in a new era of her life.

She told us that dating in her 40s has been "tough," noting all of the decent options in her hometown, Greensboro, N.C., are either married, taken, or looking for someone younger than her.

"I'm literally just trying to go on a date," Whitney said about her dating goals now. "Like, I can't even get that far. I think I need to go out in the real world and meet somebody. But it's tough."

"I obviously want a partner, but I'm not sitting around like, 'Oh, I've got to meet my husband,'" she continued. "Let me just go on a date. Let me just find some man acceptable enough to go on a date with. And I have yet to get there."

My Big Fat Fabulous Life airs new episodes on TLC at 9 p.m. EST.