A British man who moved to the US to become the sole carer for his 52st wife wants her to lose weight so she can finally visit his family in the UK after ten years.
Simon Johnson, 52, moved from East Yorkshire to Tucson, Arizona, to be with morbidly obese Shannon Lowery, 39, after they met playing games online and spends his time looking after his wife full-time.
But after a decade together, Shannon – who at one stage was could barely move from her bed due to her size, wants to lose weight so she’s able to fly to the UK and meet Simon’s family.
Appearing on This Morning today, Simon revealed he’s ‘100 per cent behind’ Shannon’s weight loss journey – which includes her going to the gym three times a week and adopting a low calorie diet.
Simon Johnson, 52, moved from the seaside resort of Bridlington in East Yorkshire to Tucson, Arizona, to be with morbidly obese Shannon Lowery after they met online (pictured together)
Last year, Shannon decided to make a change and enlisted the help of Dr Younan Nowzaradan – known as Dr Now – 76, the star of the show My 600lb Life
When asked what the pair would like to do after her weight loss, Shannon answered: ‘travel’.
She said she was desperate to meet ‘that family I haven’t seen yet’, adding: ‘I’ve got to get myself over there’.
‘I go to the gym three days a week Simon helps me work out one day and then for two days I have a trainer, she said. ‘My goal is to get down to 500lbs so I can have gastric bypass surgery.’
Last year, Shannon decided to make a change and enlisted the help of Dr Younan Nowzaradan – known as Dr Now – 76, the star of the show My 600lb Life.
Shannon, who turns 40 in June, had a difficult upbringing living with different relatives at different stages in her childhood
Appearing on This Morning today, Simon revealed he’s ‘100 per cent behind’ Shannon’s weight loss journey which includes her going to the gym three times a week and adopting a low calorie diet
The episode featuring Shannon and Simon’s story was recently broadcast in the UK on Quest Red. Shannon made the gruelling journey from Tucson to Dr Now’s offices in Houston, Texas, where she weighed in at 739lbs or 52 stone.
She is one of the heaviest women that has appeared on the show and initially lost 2st13lbs (41lbs) on Dr Now’s strict 1,200-calorie, low-carb diet, but is keen to lose a further 228lbs.
‘I’m very unhappy,’ she said this morning. ‘I’m working extremely hard to try and lose weight .
Simon insisted that he fullu supports his wife’s weight loss, admitting that it’s ‘taken ten years to get this far’ and is a ‘constant learning curve’, but hopes that she will meet his family in due course.
Shannon had a difficult upbringing, moving between living with her father, mother, grandmother, aunt and great aunt throughout her childhood.
Shannon initially lost 2st13lbs (41lbs) on Dr Now’s strict 1,200-calorie, low-carb diet, but is keen to lose a further 228lbs
She weighed more than 100lbs (7st 2lbs) aged seven, 250lbs (18st 12lbs) at 13 and by 17 was 450lbs (32 stone 2lbs)
‘Growing up I was bounced around from family member to family member and when I lived with my mom food was scarce,’ she said.
‘We would be sent to my aunt’s house so we could eat because there was no food in the house, but it was then that I think I figured out I was different from everybody.’
It was when Shannon moved in with her dad that she really started gorging on fast food.
‘My dad worked for several years managing fast food restaurant and taking care of a daughter on his own was a learning experience for him,’ said Shannon.
‘So a lot of the time I would go after school and eat dinner there and hang out with him and his crew during the evening.’
She weighed more than 100lbs (7st 2lbs) aged seven, 250lbs (18st 12lbs) at 13 and by 17 was 450lbs (32 stone 2lbs).
Simon said it was ‘love at first sight’ and he moved to the US permanently after marrying Shannon in 2011, acting as Shannon’s full-time carer
Simon insisted that he is in full support of his wife’s weight loss, admitting that ‘taken ten years to get this far’ and is a ‘constant learning curve’
Shannon was 29 and living in a nursing home, mostly confined to her bed when she met Simon gaming online.
Simon said it was ‘love at first sight’ and he moved to the US permanently after marrying Shannon in 2011, acting as Shannon’s full-time carer.
‘Shannon needs help with pretty much everything that a normal person needs to do,’ Simon previously said.
‘Simple things really that we take for granted we can’t do at the moment, so I have become her caregiver and I’m more than happy to look after her.
Shannon added: ‘Simon has to help me get up and go to the bathroom, he has to help get me up, get me dressed, he cooks, he cleans, he does the laundry – he does everything.
‘I just keep getting bigger and my life keeps getting worse, in this room with Simon taking care of me.’