Chase Severino rose to prominence when he was included in the cast of the popular American reality television show “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” which aired on the TLC network. Interest in him developed when he became romantically involved with the main star of the TV show, Whitney Way Thore, and they became engaged. The TV series made its debut in 2015, and entertained American and international audiences for nine seasons – the 10th season will air this 2022.
A brief background on Chase Severino
Before Chase Severino became a reality-TV star, he lived in a world of anonymity. He was born on 7 June 1990 to parents Harry and Dorian Severino, and has a younger sister named Kylie. His father was a former baseball player, who finished his college degree at Marshall University in Virginia. Chase grew up in a typical middle-class lifestyle, as his father worked as a Product Specialist for a Mercedes-Benz car dealership in Cary, North Carolina.
Chase graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance; he held two jobs at the time he appeared on the reality-TV show – Department Head of a construction/remodeling company during the day, and managing a bar at night.
All about “My Big Fat Fabulous Life”
On 13 January 2015, “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” was introduced to reality-TV fans through the TLC network. It was all about the life of a 380-pound woman named Whitney Way Thore, who became popular when one of her dancing videos went viral online. After working in South Korea as an English teacher, she returned to the US and worked as an on-air producer for the 107.5 KZL radio show “Jared & Katie in the Morning.” She loved dancing, and her staff posted her video in January 2014, entitled “A Fat Girl Dancing: Talk Dirty to Me.” It didn’t take long for the video to garner eight million views, and it became newsworthy because she inspired many plus-sized women to do their ‘thing’ confidently in public.
The cable network TLC immediately took an interest in her, and the rest was history.
Chase’s journey in “My Big Fat Fabulous Life”
Most fans of the show “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” were surprised when its main star became romantically involved with Chase Severino, who only started appearing regularly in the seventh season of the show. Ryan Andreas, Whitney’s business partner in their company called NoBS Active introduced the two. Ryan was Chase’s college buddy, and Whitney immediately became comfortable with him. He lived in Wilmington, West Virginia, but would often hang around in Charlotte to be with Ryan. After Whitney moved to Charlotte, she and Chase were always together.
Whitney was smitten with Chase
During one of Ryan’s visits to Whitney’s apartment he brought Chase with him, and she described Chase as someone gorgeous, sweet, and a little bit country in a very cute way.
She was being spontaneous that day, and realized that it was probably a mistake when she told Ryan that she found his best friend nice, and that she was feeling a vibe. After hearing that from her, Ryan thought it best to give Chase and Whitney some alone time so they could get to know each other better.
Chase was comfortable with Whitney’s size and weight
In one of the episodes on the seventh season of TLC’s “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” Whitney said that most of Ryan’s buddies were either married or had a steady girlfriend – that was the only time she was introduced to someone single, and she liked it. When they went around Whitney’s apartment complex, it was easy to see that they had chemistry, and Chase was also instantly comfortable being alone with her. When they tried the hammock by the yard, she was hesitant since she knew she was quite heavy, but Chase reassured her that they could fit on it. She divulged that she was over 300lbs, and he said that he was about 200lbs.
He didn’t hesitate to get tangled up in her legs, and cuddle. Then, before they parted ways, he asked her for a date.
Chase and Whitney changed status to exclusively dating
When Chase saw how close Whitney was to one of her best straight male friends named Buddy, he was wary. He knew that the relationship between the two remained platonic but he was also aware that they already kissed in the past season of the show. He asked Whitney if they could date exclusively – she didn’t want to say yes immediately, but on the inside, she was ecstatic that he asked, because that was what she also wanted. After their relationship became official, he confronted Buddy about their closeness, and the other guy assured Chase that he didn’t have any romantic feelings for Whitney. He wanted to draw some clear lines early on because he saw that it could cause a problem in their relationship.
Ryan warned Chase to be sure of his feelings
Just like the many wary fans of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” Ryan also wanted to know from Chase if he was serious about Whitney. Ryan voiced his concerns about Whitney and Chase’s budding romantic relationship, as he was the one responsible for hooking them up in the first place. He wanted Chase to be sure of his feelings for her, because he would be caught in the middle as Whitney would get mad at him as well, if things didn’t work out; it would not only affect his business relationship with Whitney but also their friendship. He continued to grill Chase, and specifically asked if he’s into big girls, because he never once saw him become involved with any plus-sized girls in the past. Chase reassured him that he was into her for real.
They both did the meet-the-parents thing
Chase invited Whitney to meet his family in West Virginia. Initially, she was afraid that his father didn’t like her, but eventually everything went smoothly during the weekend camp meet-up.
When she told her friends and her family that she officially has a boyfriend, her mother immediately told her to invite Chase for dinner. Glen, Whitney’s father, also wanted to get to know her new boyfriend. She said that if she was willing to cross state lines just to meet his parents, Chase would survive the dinner invitation, which he did even after he was put on the spot by her father – apparently, Glen asked him about his future plans with his daughter!
Whitney almost messed up the Paris trip
In the seventh episode of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” Chase accompanied Whitney and Ryan to Paris, France to meet other online influencers, and film workout videos for NoBS Active. Whitney also invited Todd and another girlfriend on the trip. While it was hard to move around with a limited budget, they tried to make it a worthwhile trip. However, Whitney made a blunder that she thought would end her relationship with Chase; she spontaneously asked about his plans of having kids, since her body became healthier that year.
He was flustered with the question, and wasn’t ready for it. It was a monumental mistake because they weren’t dating that long to already talk about having kids. However, she was more bothered that Chase looked like he was having doubts about their future together; it did cause tension between them for a while.
Getting engaged at the Eiffel Tower
No one could have predicted that an engagement would happen in “My Big Fat Fabulous Life.” Chase planned a romantic dinner for Whitney in their hotel room: they talked about the situation and cleared everything between them. Things went back to normal by the time Ryan went ahead with his Eiffel Tower challenge. Initially, Whitney didn’t want to climb the tower but Ryan insisted since he knew how fit and healthy she was at that time. Eventually, they did it in the specified time allotted for the challenge. Chase then asked her to accompany him to the top of the tower, even though he was afraid because of the height; he told her that he’d take a photo of her as a remembrance of their Paris moment.
While she was looking out at the scenic view and preparing to pose for the camera, Chase was already down on one knee with a ring in his hand, so when he asked her to turn around, he surprised her with a marriage proposal. She said ‘yes’.
Argued about moving in together
Both of their friends were right in telling them that it was probably too soon for them to get married, since they hadn’t lived under one roof, or even lived in one State. The topic of moving in together became a point of constant argument, since neither of them was willing to compromise, and then the Covid-19 pandemic happened. When both their states went into a lockdown, Whitney wanted Chase to move to Charlotte, since the bar that he was working for closed down, and she didn’t see any reason for him not to be with her. When she visited him in Wilmington, she was surprised that Chase asked her to move in with him, knowing that her job was in Charlotte.
On the other hand, Whitney could also just as easily move to Wilmington, because she could basically do her job from there. Ryan advised her that it was the perfect time for her to offer companionship, and get to know Chase better, but they were both stubborn and lived apart during quarantine. The effects of a long-distance relationship made their situation even worse.
Chase cheated on Whitney – “A big fat broken heart “
By the fifth episode of the eighth season, the inevitable happened. It started during the early days of the quarantine period – he insisted on the ‘phone that they meet up, but she couldn’t. Whitney already felt something was very wrong, and asked him to tell her straight if they had a problem. He admitted that he slept with a former girlfriend and that she was pregnant; the mother of his baby didn’t immediately tell him about it. They ended the engagement and she was heartbroken.
What happened to Chase Severino after the engagement ended?
Things didn’t go down well for Chase after the engagement with Whitney ended in “My Big Fat Fabulous Life.”
Most of the fans were disappointed with him, and expressed their opinions quite forcibly on social media. However, the negativity about the situation died down after a while, and most of the comments he now received were from well-wishers.
A closure with Whitney
Before the eighth season ended, Chase and Whitney saw each other again. He said that they both needed closure, but she had a difficult time looking at him while they talked it out. He said that he was excited to be a father, but didn’t want to rub it in her face, and at that moment, Whitney couldn’t handle it anymore. She told him that she couldn’t believe that he didn’t even try to make things work out for them, and that it was heartbreaking because Chase was telling her back in Paris that he wasn’t ready yet to have kids. Eventually, she asked for one last hug, and they said their goodbyes.
Posted a note to the fans about the situation
In May 2020, Chase addressed the fans on his Instagram account about his being a Dad, saying, ‘I don’t even know where/how to start. I am very excited to announce I am expecting a child in the fall.’ He also suggested that the fans head off to Whitney’s Instagram post for the details. Chase said that he had nothing but love and respect for her former fiancée, and thanked everyone for their support. He disabled the comment section of the post.
Allegations about Chase being a paid actor in “My Big Fat Fabulous Life”
The fans of the TV show were divided about what really happened between Chase and Whitney, with most doubting his sincerity. There were allegations that Chase was a paid actor by the production team, to complete the narrative of Whitney falling in love and then having her heart broken in the show – it just so happened that his real girlfriend became pregnant and had a baby.
There were several discussions on social media that questioned the integrity of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life.” Due to the inconsistencies of the cast members’ actions as well as the confusing timelines, some of them truly believed that it was all staged. However, some of them believed that everything on Whitney’s side was genuine. and that the producers did a cruel thing to her.
Ryan’s prediction about Chase messing up came true
In one of the social media updates in February 2021, Ryan posted a photo of him with Chase and the host of the reunion episode of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life.” He captioned it with ‘A lot can change in a year. I refuse to get worse, and I refuse to stay the same. Moves must be made.’ He also said that he’s still friends with Chase. Ryan’s friendship and business ties with Whitney were severed, as he’d predicted would happen if Chase messed it up.
Facetime with Whitney along with his baby
During the final episode of the eighth season of the TV show, Chase Facetimed with Whitney and showed her his new baby named Aurora.
The fans surmised that he probably did it after Whitney positively commented on his Instagram post, congratulating him on being a new Dad, ‘She is beautiful. Wishing you the best, Chase.’ During their Facetime moment, she told him that she wasn’t mad at him anymore, and that she was truly happy for him.
Chase and Whitney meet again
After a year of not seeing each other, they played catch up in a bar, and Chase told her that he was engaged to the mother of his baby. She was cool about it, and even asked how he popped the question. He said that he did it while pretending to take her photo under some waterfalls in Jamaica. Whitney smiled and teased him about his unoriginal proposal ideas. She reminded him that it was the very same trick he did when he proposed to her in Paris.
He said that it was cool that after everything that happened between them, they ended up being friends.
However, during the confessional interview segment in the show, Whitney admitted that not only was she stunned upon hearing about Chase’s engagement, but it was quite painful as well. She couldn’t help but compare their status, especially since she doesn’t know where her new relationship with a French guy will end up.
Chase in 2022
Many loyal viewers of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” were curious as to what was going on with Chase after his stint with the show. He’s quite active on social media, and his Instagram account was full of photos spent with his daughter and future wife. He even posted the first time he bought a new house for his family. He was grateful for all the positive things he received in 2021. Everything seemed to be working great for him, including his job, family, friends and dog. After becoming friends again with Whitney, his life was even more blessed and peaceful, based on the things he shared and posted on his social media account.
