Pauline Potter, known for appearing on season three of TLC reality show My 600-Lb. Life, has died at the age of 62.
Pauline's son Dillon Brooks shared the news on YouTube, revealing that Pauline, who was once named the heaviest woman in the world at 647lbs, was involved in a "pretty bad car accident" in January, and died on Thanksgiving day, November 27 2025, from complications that have plagued her in the 11 months since.
© Pauline PotterIn January, Pauline and Dillon were driving in the early morning before sunrise when their car hit a truck and trailer that "was stopped in the middle of the road and we did not see it because they didn’t have any lights on".
Dillon, who was not injured, claimed that the driver told them they had run out of gas at the time, which left him in the middle of the road. The impact allegedly spun Pauline and Dillon's car around until they were facing the "opposite direction on the opposite side of the road".
Pauline was treated for cuts on his limbs as well as broken ribs, and she also began to experience “severe chest pain." Months later, she also began experiencing "digestive issues” that prevented her from keeping food down, and by August, she was diagnosed with a "blockage in her esophagus" that was preventing food from passing through.
That was the last time Pauline was at home, with Dillon sharing that she had been in hospital ever since, but that "they couldn’t do all these tests and surgeries and procedures that they wanted to do because there was always something wrong".
Pauline then spent weeks in a rehab facility to help improve her nutrition but on November 19, she was moved to hospice care when she began to display signs of heart failure and respiratory failure.
Dillon, who has since created a GoFundMe to help pay for her memorial, shared that they "knew there was a very strong chance she might not make it through this," and it was while he on his way to his aunt’s house on Thanksgiving Day, where Pauline was living, that he received the news of his mother’s death.
No official cause of death has been released.
My 600lb Life follows the "medical journeys of morbidly obese people as they attempt to save their own lives". Each episode tells the powerful story of individuals as they "confront lifelong emotional and physical struggles" as they make the courageous decision to turn things around.
Pauline starred on season three of the series in 2015 and worked with Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, but later alleged in a YouTube video that she was "very disappointed about how it all went," claiming the show "turned and twisted a lot of things".
However, Pauline made subsequent appearances on the spin-off series My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now?. She had lost around 400lbs in the years after her episode aired, and in 2020 shared on Facebook that she was closer to 200lbs.
"Ok some asked for pics... here they are! This is 223lbs and after left leg done," Pauline captioned the post. "Just right leg left to do. I know they aren't perfect but much better than when I was around 700lbs so I'm pretty happy."
"Food you can't quit cold turkey. You have to eat to live,' Pauline once said of her weight, during a 2011 appearance on Dr Phil, admitting she was "embarrassed".
"It's not a happy title at all, but I knew that I'd have to degrade myself to get my story out there. It's embarrassing," she said.
