Whitney Way Thore on Her Breakup: "For About Five Months, I Was Just a Disaster"

Season 8 of My Big Fat Fabulous Life will chart how Whitney Way Thore and Chase Severino set out to plan their wedding. The only catch? The stars are no longer together. 

Whitney and Chase called it quits in May 2020 after spending a considerable chunk of time apart during the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. So, what happened? Why are they no longer engaged?

Whitney announced that she and Chase split up on Friday, May 22, 2020 on Instagram. As the star revealed, she made the decision after learning that he cheated on her with a woman whom he had known for a long time — and that he sired a child. 

"Chase and I are no longer engaged. After experiencing a lot of ups and downs and still living apart, Chase reconnected with a woman with whom he has had a long history. Chase recently told me this information and the fact that it had resulted in a pregnancy. Chase will be a father in October," Whitney wrote. 

Whitney learned about the new developments via a phone call, as per People. It's understood that they were living in different cities at the time, as Whitney spent the lockdown period in Charlotte, N.C., while Chase was staying in Wilmington, N.C. 

Overcoming the breakup was far from easy, Whitney told People. She was struggling to perform basic chores for months afterward. 

"For about five months, I was just a disaster [...] I was crying every day. I had Buddy [Bell] with me, and I honestly couldn't function without him. He fed me every day. He did my laundry, walked my dog, fed my animals. I mean, just literally did everything for me," Whitney told People. 

Things began to change around September 2020, when Whitney relocated from Charlotte, N.C. to her hometown of Greensboro, N.C. She plunged herself into work, creating new exercise regimes for No BS Active. 

However, she told People that no matter how much progress she made, the idea of having to watch the last months of her relationship with Chase on the small screen still doesn't bode all that well with her. 

"I feel like that's going to be as painful to watch as the aftermath of it happening; to see myself happy and then to see myself devastated," Whitney told People. 

Chase announced that he and his partner welcomed their first daughter, Aurora Joyce Severino, on Sept. 10, 2020, on Instagram. He has posted several photos with the adorable baby girl on the social media platform since then. 

As a recently-released trailer of My Big Fat Fabulous Life hints, Whitney and Chase met up at least once in person to discuss the disastrous ending of their relationship and to talk about the latest developments taking place in Chase's life.

Season 8 of My Big Fat Fabulous Life premieres on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.