Star Jones Reynolds Confesses to Weight-loss Surgery

The worst-kept secret in TV is finally out: Star Jones Reynolds has at long last confessed that she had gastric bypass surgery. In the September issue of Glamour, on sale Aug. 7, former View cohost Star Reynolds breaks her silence in a revealing article about how she gained weight - and then struggled with the pressure to reveal how she lost it.
"I admit that when asked about my obvious weight loss, I was intentionally evasive," she says. For the past four years, Reynolds - who weighed over 300 pounds at the time of her surgery in 2003 - would only admit that "medical intervention" helped her shed 160 pounds.
"First, I didn't know if the surgery would work," she explains. "I had never stuck to a diet or committed to exercise for more than a month, and I had spent my entire adult life telling everyone that I was fine with the way I looked.... I was also terrified someone would have a tragic result after emulating me."
"But the complete truth is, I was scared of what people might think of me," Reynolds continues. "I was afraid to be vulnerable and [was] ashamed at not being able to get myself under control without this procedure."
Though the pounds began melting away quickly, she still struggled with the emotional issues behind her weight gain, especially given the public outcry for her to 'fess up. "After I left The View, many women told me they felt empowered by my honesty over having been fired - but wished I was willing to be as honest about my weight loss," she says.
With the help of her husband and a therapist, Reynolds finally began to open up about the surgery. "In fact, true freedom and healing started to come when I began to talk about my surgery with strangers," she writes. "I talked openly to people at the airport, to my taxi driver, to women in my exercise class, even to women in the middle of Target while shopping. At first I was terrified someone would sell me out to the tabloids, but as I began to trust the lessons I was learning about not being able to control everything, I was able to relax.... Talking about my weight loss finally gave me the control I'd hungered for."
Read Reynold's full article here.