pdlinda

I wholeheartedly agree with your comment. I will give Tori credit, however, for building a viable monetized social media presence that took several years to achieve. Now they also have a monetized podcast. Presumably, both of them, especially Zach, have built a financial portfolio adequate to support the family for now and in the future. That income stream plus that social media and podcast $$$ probably allowed them to leave the show as, in my estimation, when I see them on camera, it kind of reminds me of a "hostage video." 😆 They don't seem happy to be there.

Tori is on Instagram and I watch her "reels" almost every day. I keep in mind that the show we're viewing was filmed about a year ago. In the recent videos Tori posted the kids have grown a lot. Josiah is walking and doing a lot of things and Lilah and Jackson have matured. Neither Lilah nor Jackson speak intelligibly but Tori never responds with saying the word or phrase correctly. I did hear Lilah say the word: DaDa and Josiah repeated it. There are no TLC subtitles so most of the time I don't know what Jackson is saying. Jackson, however, is playing baseball and doing very well getting on 1st base by actually hitting the ball. Lilah is still dancing but Tori seems much more affectionate and caring toward her. As we know, Tori shills for a # of children's clothing companies so Lilah, in particular, is always beautifully dressed. That was especially true when Lilah went to her first daddy/daughter dance at her school. The dress she wore was especially beautiful! I would have to say that the family seems to be thriving away from the show and I can't see even a remote possibility they would ever return to filming.

I couldn't BELIEVE that Caryn refused to assert herself in declining the 2nd pastry! What's with her? She's usually very outspoken! If ANYONE tried to "pressure" me into eating ANYTHING that I declined, he/she would know it was was a BIG MISTAKE! Maybe that's because I lost 100 lbs 17 years ago and never gained it back! I've learned through the years what it takes to resist food choices offered by others (including those who are overweight themselves). I won't get into the nutritional value (or lack of) of those pastries but when women hit a certain age the old adage I learned from Weight Watchers a LONG time ago comes to mind: "A MINUTE ON YOUR LIPS, 10 YEARS ON YOUR HIPS"😆

My exact thoughts!😆 He said he was a "business consultant." I wonder what that means??? The wife's job as an asst. professor was probably secure; however, I wonder how secure HIS INCOME IS, especially in these turbulent times! There was also a large difference in the ages of their children. Maybe they're planning on expanding their family with more children in the years to come.

The "live chat" was no longer available to me (other episodes were available, but for some reason, Abi's was deleted). I also saw on Facebook (or Instagram, I forget which one) Dr. Now was congratulated for having reached 2 MILLION FOLLOWERS, so I'm thinking the show is reaching a massive enough audience to have it renewed. That's good news as far as I'm concerned!

I was thinking the same thing...I was hoping they would add a written "tease" at the end of the episode with ....."more to follow" or something like that. It would make sense for us to see him actually be able to walk...and, then, of course, to receive skin removal surgery. As an aside, I checked several boards on Facebook and I must say, barely any posts were written about Abi. This is leading me to believe that interest in the show is probably diminishing and that this will probably be its last season. I thought Abi's episode was the best they presented in several YEARS!

Abi lost over 250 lbs and his progress was IN SPITE OF, not because of his life circumstances. I found him to be such a reputable, dignified person who had a devoted wife, and actually had a JOB through all his travails. He was an example many in such distress could actually find inspiring. As a matter of fact, I thought Dr. Now's offering him abundant services (including MONTHS of being in the hospital) were based upon Abi's OWN EFFORTS to overcome his compulsive eating habits that caused him to balloon to over 700 lbs! If the paltry number of comments on this board are any indication of the lack of an audience for the show, after all these years, I guess it won't be renewed.

I deleted this show because of that reason; HOWEVER, I'm still getting notifications. Maybe the new mods can fix that.

I can't understand why there is such a HUGE reduction in posts for this show. The latest episode, featuring Abi, that I thought was EXCELLENT), accumulated a total of 6 (SIX) RESPONSES! Maybe someone could enlighten me??

Jackson also requires subtitles when he speaks. His terribly deformed legs are always a subject of viewer comments, as well. I know that Jackson had a minor surgery on his legs but the results are not visible and Tori and Zach are mute on the subject. That contrasts greatly with their derisive references to Lilah's speech delays, her eye problems and her coordination issues (if they exist) while dancing.

Also, Jackson has more verbal abilities than Lilah does; HOWEVER, TLC still needs subtitles when he speaks..I, personally, can never understand a word he's saying. That's in addition to his deformed legs. I think that Jackson's "issues" with his dwarfism are almost "secondary" to the issue of his legs regarding his contemporaries in school. I'm not sure anything can be done but I don't ever see either of them (as you mention) even casually talking about it.

As was mentioned upthread, these two need active, intensive therapy to help them sort out and respond properly to the numerous issues that arise on a daily basis with their 3 special-needs children. Neither of them have shown the necessary skills or abilities to effectively parent any of their children.

This episode and the points made by posters on this thread make me wonder why ZiT (both separately, or as a couple) aren't in therapy BEFORE THEIR KIDS GET ANY OLDER! They certainly could use some professional help in responding to challenges their children are facing now and in the future. Hopefully, now that they are no longer on the show, someone might suggest this healthy option to them (as I doubt they would think of it themselves).

No question that Tori "rules the roost" ESPECIALLY NOW when her social media presence is so successful she essentially must provide a large part of their income. Tori is in control of most everything in the household and Zach seems content riding around the property with his various "farm vehicles" engaging in different "projects." Those "projects" (especially in today's economy) are costly and I believe (pure speculation) that he has income from investments (he was on the show for over 20 yrs) that allows him to pay for that himself. All in all I think ZiT was wise to jump off the showbiz bandwagon and raise their children in a relatively private way. Tori has "reels" on Instagram almost every day showing the kids "in action", but each video is less than a minute long. She also shills all her various sponsored products.

The most prominent feature of Jackson's physical limitation due to his dwarfism are his LEGS! At his age it's apparent how greatly deformed they are, and although he's shown to be physically active (like in sports) it's very unsettling seeing how he has to maneuver his gait just to stay ambulatory. I wonder what and when this deformity can be addressed surgically. I believe I recall Tori saying it would be YEARS before some type of major surgery would be performed to straighten Jackson's legs. I believe that his deformed legs are more of a detriment to his self esteem and "mainstreaming" with kids in his grade that his dwarfism is at this time.

That was enough for me....immediate click on the remote to "delete."😃

That seems very reasonable. My daughter lives in L.A. and has 5 children. Their home is about 4000 SF. I know they pay an astronomical amt for cleaning/landscaping (outdoor) maintenance. I live in PHX and have a 1 BR 900 SF apt. I pay $100 every other week for cleaning.

What I got from it (didn't listen to the entire podcast), they have progressed in life beyond the show AND their "children" were becoming aware of the producers during filming and were becoming negatively affected by the demands of the show. I was always convinced that ZiT would stay with the show forever because they needed the pay check; however, I now believe that Torie has built up a monitized social media presence (including the podcast) sufficient to generate the income they need WITHOUT THE SHOW to maintain their lifestyle. That, of course, is, presumably supplemented by investments they probably have (I hope) from being on the show for so many years.

I was hoping she could work from home much of the time (did I hear correctly that she was a "physical therapist?) When they say it's a ONE HR COMMUTE I always respond with an "eye roll" because we all know that traffic conditions vary and it's most unlikely there wouldn't be an accident/construction slowdowns along the way. Who knows, maybe she leaves work at 2 PM and can get home in an hour? Otherwise, it's extremely problematic that she'd be able to manage her household and young toddler by getting home at dinnertime. I was also struck with the maintenance on the large homes they saw. I thought about that long commute in terms of her having to cook, clean and do general chores with all those rooms (especially bathrooms). The outside maintenance, as well, seemed like a monumental chore UNLESS they hire people to do it for them. These days, from what I see with my daughter's family (large home with kids) the monthly expense for people doing housecleaning/landscaping and lawn maintenance is HUGE...about $1K each month. I hope they have a lot of income that keeps growing! They'll need it! Good Luck to them. They seemed to be a loving, compatible couple.

I'm far from an expert in this department; HOWEVER, from what I hear, the ratio of single women to men in Amy's age group are skewed markedly in favor of eligible men, These are well-heeled, attractive, professionally-retired women who would be delighted to hitch their proverbial wagon onto a seemingly great guy like Chris and bankroll various recreational adventures (or, more realistically, share in the expenses so the man doesn't get the feeling hie's "kept") In addition, in Amy's case WE KNOW she has 4 children, and WE KNOW that those 4 children (regardless of their financial circumstances at the moment) are likely to be very proprietary regarding her $$$, especially as it pertains to any spending they may perceive as Amy lavishing $$ on Chris (who has NO CHILDREN). To conclude: I'm still GOBSMACKED at Chris' choice to marry Amy...

After all these years, I STILL cannot fathom WHAT Chris sees (saw) in Amy? They seem like such an incongruous couple. He appears to be a fully functional, nice-looking man with his own resources who never married (for whatever reason). He meets Amy, a "little person" with a TV show, divorced with a bad attitude (I will avoid characterizing her "looks" or overall appearance) and falls madly enough in love with her to take her on for LIFE! I guess LOVE IS BLIND (in Chris' case)...😆

...there has been a massive reduction in posts and responses to posts. I wonder why that happened??? HMMM...

I also noticed that there were no scenes when she was "inhaling" massive amounts of food. Someone upthread mentioned that maybe there was some clinical (genetic/hormonal) reason for her morbid obesity. Wouldn't Dr. Now do a battery of tests on her before doing surgery? I know I had 3 joints(2 hips, 1 knee) replaced and there were numerous diagnostic tests done prior to surgery. Mention was also made of her very early onset of obesity. Wouldn't she have had a history of clinical testing throughout her life? IMO, her supportive family (including Damien) was a big reason she was ready, willing and able to make the changes she will need to lose the weight and keep it off. Good Luck to her!!

Thanks so much for clarifying those points. I missed that completely.

Yes, those thoughts also occurred to me. Another instance where the "pounder" squeezes behind the wheel of her car with the husband on the passenger side. Why doesn't he drive and as for work, perhaps he is her "care giver?" She did seem motivated. My question is WHY they spend almost half the show on the prelim to her visiting Dr. Now and then, once she takes the enormous steps to move to Houston and make some progress, all those months are squeezed into the last 15 mins of the episode. Mention was made of her certainly being shown on a future WATN episode. However, in the past few years, those episodes were very "few and far between". I always took that to mean that the "pounder" either "backslid" or simply didn't want the inconvenience of continuing to be filmed. Maybe Kristel will be an exception. Last, each season, I'm always looking for even a scintilla of change in format; however, as with all previous seasons, none are seen (with the exception of Dr. Now apparently using a much more skilled hair "colorist" to hide his grey and give him a more "natural" style). Other than that (and the new weigh-in gal) nary a change. (Not that I'm complaining because I'm not)😉