What Happened To Lupe Samano From My 600-Lb. Life?
Lupe Samano's story may have aired on TLC for just 45 minutes, but her weight loss journey continued off screen. The California native appeared on the long-running reality show My 600-Lb. Life in its fourth season.
My 600-Lb. Life has been highly criticized for caring less about the mental health of the obese patients and more about creating drama, as one Reddit user argued. Three previous cast members even filed lawsuits in 2020, alleging gross negligence. The cast members claimed that showrunners mistreated them and failed to provide adequate therapy to one patient who later committed suicide.
Despite these red flags, obese people still volunteer themselves to be on the show, including Lupe Samano (who now goes by her full name, Lupita Samano, via Facebook.) According to Heavy, Lupita weighed 642 pounds and had been bedridden for 12 years at the beginning of her episode.
Upon joining Dr. Now's extreme weight loss program, Lupita struggled to keep up with the diet and exercise regimen. Nevertheless, she pushed forward and soon lost enough weight to receive a gastric bypass surgery. At the end of Lupita's episode, the showrunners revealed that she lost an astonishing 295 pounds (via Heavy). In a Facebook update from October 2019, Samano revealed she was down to 220 pounds (her goal is to reach 180).
Lupita overcame challenges and abuse at home
Though Lupe Samano (now Lupita) made it through a vigorous weight loss program and serious surgery, she faced other damaging struggles in her personal life. A disturbing scene in her debut episode revealed that her then husband, Gilbert, abused her. As described by The Cinemaholic, Gilbert forced Lupita to be intimate with him even though Lupita's surgery was still fresh. This caused Lupita's stitches to open, and her wounds became infected.
Samano has since separated from Gilbert and moved to Redlands, California. In 2017, she met a new love interest, Andrew Renteria (pictured above). Unfortunately, Renteria passed away in 2019 due to kidney problems. Lupita confessed on Facebook how devastating Renteria's death was for her.
Despite these personal challenges, Lupita tries to remain positive on social media. She captioned a 2019 Facebook photo of herself as "Mz.UNSTOPPABLE [sic]". Though Lupita has not posted anything online recently, her fans still believe in her and check in with her on Facebook, sending her their best wishes.