Todd Beasley developed a fan base due to his inclusion as part of the main cast in the reality-television series, “My Big Fat Fabulous Life.” He was one of the close friends of the main star of the show, Whitney Way Thore, whom he met when he was in high school. The TV show became a hit on the TLC cable channel, as it encouraged people about their self-worth, women empowerment, and positive body image issues. Todd witnessed her struggles and had been there to lend a listening ear as well as provide her with practical advice.
“My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” a brief background
Many reality-TV shows came to fruition for unexpected reasons – “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” was conceptualized due to a YouTube video. In 2015, some TLC network executives learned of a video that went viral, entitled “Fat Girl Dancing: Talk Dirty To Me”. Social media was just starting to take center stage, and it was such a big deal at that time when a video trended online. The ‘fat girl’ was identified as Whitney Way Thore, from North Carolina.
Her family and friends were shocked that the video trended. When it was uploaded onto YouTube, they never thought it would blow up, as Whitney was just working as one of the producers at the 107.5 KZL radio show called “Jared & Katie in the Morning.” Whitney was a plus-sized woman, and they found it amazing that despite her size, she could dance that well, so her co-workers shared it online. Due to the interest that it generated from the public, TLC offered Whitney a reality-TV show, which premiered on 13 January 2015, and has been regaling the viewers of her exploits since then. It aired its tenth season on 9 August 2022, and people continued to clamor for more.
Todd Beasley and his connection with Whitney Way Thore
Since “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” was conceptualized due to Whitney’s dancing skills, it was only appropriate that her dancing partner in the video was included in her reality-TV show. Get to know more about Todd Beasley, and his personal connection with the main star.
Early life, family, and education
Todd Beasley was born on 17 April 1985, in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he and most of his family were raised. Even as a little kid he was into performing arts, such as singing and dancing. When he discovered that he could carry a tune, he became part of their local church choir and would often find himself in the cast of musical plays in his hometown. His love for performing continued to develop in high school, as he joined many of the school plays at Southeast Guilford High School in Greensboro, but it was his passion for dancing that led him to meet Whitney Way Thore. She also attended the same high school, and they developed a close friendship, starting after they became dancing partners in the school production of the musical “Grease.” Todd portrayed the role of Kenickie Murdoch, while Whitney played the role of Cha Cha Di Gregorio. Todd graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Musical Theatre from Elon University in North Carolina, following which he flew to New York City to follow his dream of becoming a stage actor on Broadway.
Whitney Thore’s eternal dance partner
He only returned to Greensboro when Whitney asked him to be her dancing partner, as she was trying to get back to her former healthier self, which led to the fat girl dancing video. TLC producers saw that his inclusion in the TV show aligned to their plans of presenting the inspiring life of Whitney. He immediately agreed, as it was a great platform for teaching people how to dance. Being in a reality-TV show meant that there were cameras around, but it seemed that Todd was comfortable with it, especially since most of the cast members were his friends, including a cousin, Ashley Baines, who was also one of Whitney’s best friends.
Dated one of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” cast members in high school
Viewers were pleasantly surprised when it was revealed that for a time back in high school, Todd dated one of the cast members in the show, Heather Sykes, who was introduced into the series during the second season. Apparently, she was also part of the Southeast Guilford High School production of “Grease”, playing the character of Betty Rizzo. The fans surmised that it was probably the time when Todd still preferred dating girls.
Todd’s interesting moments in “My Big Fat Fabulous Life”
Todd had been part of the show since it was launched, and was embroiled in many of the interesting drama scenarios in it.
The Big Girls Dance Class (BGD) – No judgment room
One of the reasons the TV show “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” became such a huge hit among women with weight issues, was that Whitney inspired them to be positive about their body shapes. Todd, being a dance teacher, helped Whitney by offering the Big Girls Dance classes in Greensboro. The two provided those women with a space where they could dance freely without being judged about their appearance or dancing skills. It was quite successful as there had been many people enrolling in their classes.
Todd wasn’t pleased with the BGD Tour
Todd became at odds with BFF Whitney about the Big Girl Dance Tour; apparently, Whitney wanted to re-create the magic that she once felt while dancing, and thought that organizing a BGD Tour would help ignite the spark. However, Todd wasn’t so sure of her plans, knowing that her skills weren’t in organizing events. He said that she already had difficulties in creating a dance routine for the tour, so how much harder it would be when she had to make arrangements in venues and schedule the tour as well. True enough, during the Pittsburg stop, the venue that she rented couldn’t fit the 500 participants who bought tickets for the class; eventually, they found a solution to their problem. The tour went on successfully, despite all the issues that they encountered further. However, Todd realized that planning a tour wasn’t for them, and said that they should just have remained in Greensboro.
The ‘4 AM escapades’
Whitney was a witness to what she referred to as Todd’s “4 AM escapades.” Apparently, Todd had a habit of dropping unannounced into Whitney’s home around four in the morning. There would be times when she heard someone moving in the kitchen and thought that it was an intruder, only to find out that Todd was putting trays of casseroles in the fridge that he cooked for her. Todd said that he wanted to go in and out of Whitney’s home without being detected, but wasn’t always successful; there were times he would walk her dogs very early in the morning as part of his daily exercise.
“My Big Fat Fabulous Life” fans commented online that they wanted to have a friend like Todd, who sometimes acted like a loving grandmother. Whitney said that she had long given up on understanding why he did what he did, and just accepted her friend’s early morning antics, as aside from having a great friend, she gained a cook extraordinaire, house sitter, and pet walker.
Todd, the no-nonsense, in-your-face friend
According to many fans on social media, one of Todd’s best traits as a friend was always ‘reality checking out’ Whitney in the show. He didn’t hide his views on certain issues, especially if he thought that his friend was out of line or was deluding herself. For instance, in one of the recent seasons of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” he discovered that Whitney had a new love interest. Whitney met a French guy via a language exchange app. He would temper down his friend’s expectations, as he reasoned out that it would be best from the get-go that his friend approached this situation logically. He would often advise Whitney that she might think she was into the new guy, but it might not be the case, especially since they only met online. The French guy was her language tutor.
Among Whitney’s friends, it was Todd who would immediately burst her bubble, and tell her that the French teacher could have a family somewhere, so it would be best not to invest too much emotion. He would remind her about entering long-distance relationships, and aiming for another unattainable guy. However, he knew that with the way Whitney’s brain operated, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was already planned her wedding vows in French. She was in love with the concept of falling in love, and would always believe that she was in an exclusive relationship, even if the guy was a thousand miles away from her. He could only do so much as to make her face reality by telling her the truth, and had already accepted that he would always be the bad guy in these situations.
Whitney had her face smacked with cake, courtesy of Todd
Even longtime loyal and supportive friends can easily get into fights, because they knew that after what had been said and done, they’d remain friends – Todd and Whitney enjoyed this kind of friendship for decades. There was one time when the two fought when she thought that Todd quit on her in their dance class. In one season of the show, the two attended a party of their mutual friend’s kids, and traded barbs which ended with a frustrated Todd smacking Whitney’s face with some piece of the birthday cake. Apparently, she told all their friends, clients, and family that he quit on her, when Todd said he was just taking a break from it all. One of their friends tried to keep the peace between them, by telling them that they needed to stop because it was obvious that each one had a different perspective on what transpired. However, Whitney wouldn’t stop from repeating that Todd quit on her, because it was a known habit of hers that if she had an idea in her head, she would latch on to it even if others would tell her otherwise. Their friendship wasn’t destroyed by this altercation, as they were used to having these little fights.
A bitter Todd couldn’t help but act like a jerk
There was a popular YouTube fitness star named Caleb (Fitness Marshall) and Todd had the idea of reaching out to the guy to collaborate for a dance video, and arranged to attend the popular Fitness Marshall dance class with Whitney in New York. However, during the class, Todd found himself going out of the room so he could puke; no reason was given but it happened many times. In the end, Caleb only chose Whitney to join him in a dance video that they uploaded online later on. In fairness to her, she asked Caleb if she could bring Todd along, but the YouTube star disapproved. Todd was quite frustrated that he acted like a jerk toward Whitney, which wasn’t fair, as it was beyond her control. Some viewers understood his actions, but others thought that Whitney should recognize it as a red flag in choosing friends.
Too fierce, @TheFitMarshall and @whitneywaythore 🔥 https://t.co/ZJflGk40U7
— POPSUGAR Wellness (@POPSUGARWell) February 7, 2019
Whitney was lambasted by some fans when Todd injured his leg
Todd experienced some shooting pain during a dance routine that Whitney was teaching, which caused a major discussion online between fans of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life.” Some of them expressed their dismay that Whitney, who could see everyone clearly in the dance class, ignored her friend who was obviously in pain, holding his thigh while sitting on the floor. It took a while before Whitney approached Todd, which they said was unacceptable, even arguing that he was in her line of sight, and it would be impossible for her not to notice him. Some fans argued that it could be a case of Whitney being totally engrossed in what she was doing, because it wasn’t logical for her to ignore Todd since it wouldn’t do great things for her image, unless that scenario was scripted to make the show more interesting.
The perpetually ‘late’ Todd Beasley
One of the things that Todd and Whitney usually fought about was Todd’s tardiness; some fans of the show bashed him on his social media account about this annoying habit. In an October 2022 episode, the two friends fought again, as Whitney told Todd that she was losing money over his tardiness – they were rehearsing for a dance video that they needed to upload in time for the No BS app anniversary. The problem was that it was difficult to pin down Todd to make it on time for the rehearsals. Whitney already expected it, but Todd promised that he wouldn’t be late during the filming of the video, but saying that he preferred everyone was already there ready to shoot when he arrived. However, he was 45 minutes late for filming. Whitney was quite mad at him but couldn’t waste any more time. The filming went well without her lashing out at him.
Todd’s glow-up delighted the fans
During the 10th season of the TV show, viewers were pleasantly surprised when they saw Todd and Whitney along with other friends, go out after the Covid-19 quarantine period was over. People commented that it was nice of him to accompany Whitney, as the quarantine regulations didn’t sit well with her mental health; apparently, she had a hard time dealing with being cooped up in her home during that time. Todd stole the limelight because of his “glow up” moment, an online slang for impressive physical appearance or skill upgrade. They found him quite attractive with his new hair color, haircut, and total look.
Issues between Todd and Whitney weren’t real
After being on the small screen for 10 seasons, “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” had constantly been accused of being scripted by some viewers. It wasn’t the only TV series that received this criticism, as most, if not all, reality-TV shows at some point in their existence were called fake. The accusations became even more evident whenever there were arguments or fights between the cast members. Sometimes, the showrunners would take inspiration from the daily TV soaps, and would insert dramatic confrontations to make the show even more compelling. More often than not, these fights generated more views, and since they control the narrative, everything would be resolved in later episodes.
Loyal fans of the show over the years observed that most of the arguments between Todd and Whitney were forced. The reasons behind those fights were quite trivial, and was why they hadn’t escalated into something deeper or darker. The main star of the show would often clap back at the haters, and reiterate that the show was edited but not scripted. Some reality-TV fans, especially the newer ones, hadn’t yet realized that these shows were ‘guided reality,’ which meant that some of the situations that were presented in the show were already discussed by the writers and the stars. The drama didn’t necessarily happen in real-time, but could have in the past, and the reason for them looking unnatural was that they weren’t professional actors. Nonetheless, it didn’t mean that the showrunners never indulged in creating confrontations within their shows, as most viewers lapped-up those scenes whenever the stars’ tempers flared up.
