How Getting A Divorce Changed 1000-Lb. Sisters' Amy Slaton's Life

Divorce can be devastating emotionally, mentally, and financially for anyone, but the hit it takes on a person's self-esteem likely increases exponentially when it happens in the public eye. "1000-Lb. Sisters" star Amy Slaton went through a very public split from her ex-husband Michael Halterman after he filed for divorce in March 2023 following four years of marriage. Viewers witnessed the toll the devastating split took on the reality star, who was captured by Season 5 cameras crying over the breakdown of her ostensibly picture-perfect relationship with her high school sweetheart. Slaton, who shared the sad news that she lost her beloved dog Little Bit just a year before the breakup, admitted to People in December 2023 that she'd been struggling in the marriage long before they separated. 

"There was no support. There was no love. There was no kindness. There was just mental abuse," Slaton alleged. By the time she and Halterman finalized their divorce, in September 2023, it seemed that she was already starting to pick up the pieces and move on. Slaton was getting help from a therapist and even dating a new man. But this wasn't enough to stop her apparent downward spiral as she soon called it quits with him. Slaton's disturbing arrest in Tennessee, in September 2024, for drug possession and child endangerment didn't help. However, in a November 2024 episode of "1000-Lb. Sisters," she showed that divorcing Halterman and cutting a toxic person out of her life was the best decision she'd made for herself as it spurred the TLC star on to try new things and better herself.

The sixth season of "1000-Lb. Sisters" chronicled not only Amy Slaton and her sister Tammy Slaton's ongoing weight loss journey but also the aftermath of the former's nasty divorce. Aside from therapy, Amy decided to improve her cooking skills as part of her ongoing quest to find herself as a newly single, independent woman. Earlier in the season, Tammy was alarmed and skeptical after Amy, whom she admitted is "known for making weird concoctions of food," added white chocolate chips and other bizarre ingredients to the shrimp alfredo she made for her family. 

After this, Amy signed up for a cooking class and learned how to make steak. While she continued to follow her own instincts instead of the teacher's actual recipe, Amy was impressed with the results of her unconventional methods and even received a positive review from the instructor — which naturally did wonders for the reality star's confidence. "After this cooking class, I'm feeling more confident just showing the teacher that you don't have to use the normal s**t to make it delicious," she stated proudly, as seen in a Season 6, Episode 5 clip shared on YouTube by TLC.

According to Amy, her decision to attend cooking school helped her realize she's capable of much more than she'd initially believed. "Since the divorce and everything, I've been trying to find who Amy is, but I'm actually finding out more in a way. I've got more potential now. I didn't think I could cook, you know, I didn't think I could have that skill set. But now it's like, wait, I can do that," the TLC star confessed.