'My Big Fat Fabulous Life' Star Whitney Way Thore Gets Engaged After Dating Cousin
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Dec. 4 2019, Published 9:09 p.m. ET
My Big Fat Fabulous Life star Whitney Way Thore announced her engagement to her boyfriend -- after she discovered in 2017 that another man she had been dating online was her cousin!
On Tuesday, Dec. 3, Thore, 35, told fans that Chase Severino had actually proposed to her two months ago when they were in the City of Love.
"Chase and I got engaged on October 9th in Paris and I’m quite possibly the happiest woman alive," Thore crowed to followers on Instagram.
"It has been REAL hard to keep this a secret!"
Thore added, "the ring is exactly what I wanted: yellow sapphire, diamonds, + white gold."
Severino also took to social media with the happy news, writing, "Soooo, something happened!!! Whitney and I are so excited to officially announce our engagement!!
"The best part is everyone can experience our wild ride from friendship to dating to falling in love because you can tune into My Big Fat Fabulous Life on your TVs!! I love you so much baby."
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As Us Weekly reported two years ago, Thore's dating life took a strange turn before she fell for Severino.
Viewers saw how she met a suitor named Nathan online, who told her, "There’s probably something I should share with you — very interesting information that I found out…I think we’re distant relatives.”
He continued to shocked Thore, “We are related. We’re, like, second cousins or something. I was telling my mom — she asked about the date, and I mentioned your name. … I forgot how the connection was, but she knew everybody’s name, and she was telling me how we’re tied together somehow in our family, and I was like, ‘What?'”
Thore told the cameras, “I’ve been on some weird f–king dates before, but I’ve never dealt with this. … I feel like I entered into something that I would not have entered into had I had all the information — and I feel gross.”
Now, however, Thore has found the normal, unrelated man of her dreams.
Severino sounds ready to make his TV debut during the upcoming sixth season of the TLC show, which will cover their entire romance from dating to engagement.
Sparks flew after Ryan Andreas, Thore's business partner at NoBS Active, apparently introduced Thore to college buddy Severino.
As RadarOnline.com readers know, Thore is a body image activist, fighting for her own happiness after weighing 340 pounds. Thore endured a hellish childhood, getting bullied and experiencing suicidal thoughts.
The reality TV star has admitted in the past to being “embarrassed” by her own body – but said, “I believe I CAN change the world, and I also believe I deserve to do everything that makes me feel good.”