Preliminary Cause of Death Released for 'My 600-lb Life' Star

A former "My 600-lb Life" star passed away in Louisiana over the weekend, according to reports. 

Latonya Pottain, who appeared on the TLC reality show in 2022, died at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center in Shreveport, LA on Saturday night, per TMZ. She was 40 years old.

The reported cause of death following a preliminary autopsy is congestive heart failure, with a full autopsy still to come.

According to Pottain's brother, who spoke to TMZ, family members visited Latonya at her home Saturday morning and noticed she didn't look well and was having trouble breathing. Pottain also told her family she was very uncomfortable.

"Her brother said the family got a call later from a nurse who told them Latonya called an ambulance to bring her to the hospital because she was going into cardiac arrest, which led to her death," TMZ wrote.

Pottain's death comes a year after she posted on social media asking her followers to "pray" for her due to cardiac issues.

“Y’all pray for me my heart not working right and there is nothing more the doctors can do here in Louisiana please keep me lifted," Pottain wrote at the time.

According to a recent GoFundMe started by Pottain for her medical and care expenses, she now weighed over 700 pounds and had been bedridden since June 2024 due to "severe health issues."

Pottain said she weighed 531 pounds when she appeared on "My 600-lb Life" and at one point got down to 505.

"However, after the show aired, I experienced overwhelming backlash, which sent me into a deep depression," she said. "My mental health suffered, and I became fearful of undergoing weight loss surgery."

A move to Houston in 2023 did not alleviate her problems, and her health continued to decline, leading to her becoming bedridden.

"This has been an incredibly difficult journey, and I truly want to fight for my health and my life," she said.