‘My Big Fat Fabulous Life’: Whitney Says Buddy Is ‘A Different Person’

In “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” Season 5, episode 4, Whitney Way Thore’s friend Buddy Bell mysteriously disappeared, causing Whitney and Buddy’s ex Heather to worry about him. In a recent interview ahead of this week’s installment, Whitney admitted that she actually noticed something different with Buddy before he vanished.

“There were a lot of things Buddy was doing and saying that were uncharacteristic for months and months,” the 33-year-old television personality disclosed to Newsweek. “There was something really, really wrong with Buddy. And you will see that really quickly … It’s something I’ve never been through and [it was] devastating for a lot of us.”

Commenting further on the signs that gave away Buddy’s ordeal, Whitney said, “Buddy literally turned into a different person. I used to sit around with Heather and be like who is he? His appearance changed, his personality changed and he became a stranger.”

By the looks of things, it’s clear that Buddy didn’t go missing because of his recent breakup with Heather. In fact, the split may have also been propelled by the same issue that’s troubling Whitney’s friend. When Buddy broke up with Heather, he confessed, “I wanna come clean … I was dating and stringing you along.”

Fast forward to this week’s “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” Season 5 installment, and fans got to see how Heather is still concerned about her ex. “I’m actually legitimately concerned that something might be wrong,” Heather said upon learning that Buddy left his parents’ home and has been missing for days. Whitney was also deeply worried since Buddy was not returning her texts and answering her calls.

Episode 4 did not reveal why Buddy left, so the storyline will continue next week. According to the synopsis of episode 5, titled “Buddy’s Big Secret,” Whitney will uncover the harsh truth about her friend when she goes sleuthing inside his parents’ house. It appears what Buddy is going through is something extremely serious. In the preview that TLC released ahead of Season 5’s premiere, Whitney was seen getting emotional while telling Buddy’s parents, “Just tell him that I love him and that I’m sorry.”

Meanwhile, episode 4 wasn’t all about Buddy’s sudden disappearance. There were also some light moments in the installment, especially the one wherein Whitney put one of her cats on a diaper when Ashley paid her a visit. Ashley at first didn’t find the idea a bit strange. But then she did when she saw Whitney confusing her cat’s anxiety for joy after diapering the feline. Ashley even confessed that she thinks Whitney may be trying to substitute her cats for the baby she thought she was having in the previous season.

“My Big Fat Fabulous Life” Season 5 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on TLC.