You don't gain more than 700 pounds overnight, and Tammy Slaton's journey started at a young age. As this school photo revealed, she has been overweight for the majority of her life. A native of Dixon, Kentucky, Slaton and her siblings grew up in a family in which money was scarce and parental guidance was lacking. Her mother, Darlene, was no June Cleaver, and the family did not sit down to a healthy dinner at night. On the contrary, her mother worked multiple jobs in an effort to make ends meet.
In her absence, Slaton and her younger sister were either home alone or in the care of their grandmother. When their grandmother died, however, the girls basically became feral. Left to their own devices, they relied on whatever they could find to eat, which was primarily packaged, processed, unhealthy foods. As Slaton told the Louisville Courier Journal, "It's what we ate to survive, and that stuff is not good for you."
Fans of the show have been vocal about their dislike of Slaton's mother, and Slaton admits that growing up with a mother who wasn't exactly nurturing contributed to both her weight and her mental health issues. In a 2019 People interview, the reality star spoke openly about how depression about how she looked not only kept her all but homebound for six years but nearly cost her her life. "I attempted to kill myself last January," she said.
