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“Mike & Molly” star Billy Gardell is sharing how his dramatic weight loss after bariatric surgery in 2021 changed his life.
During a recent appearance on the “Breaking Bread” podcast, the 57-year-old actor said his decision to undergo the surgery “probably saved my life” and described the circumstances that led to him deciding that was the right route for him.
He explained that he had developed Type 2 diabetes and “some cholesterol stuff, some heart stuff,” joking that his doctor told him that, “after 50, the warranties start running out.”
“You can’t outrun those. I think the only reason I was able to survive as long as I did is one, I got decent genetics, and two was I played some sports when I was younger. So, I was a big fat guy, but I was a pretty solid fat guy, and I could carry the weight for a long time, but eventually you can’t outrun that.”
Gardell credits his weight loss surgery for saving his life. (Getty Images)
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After a certain point, Gardell said, his doctor approached him and said, “You have to do something.”
“I got to the point where I hurt my knee, and I couldn’t even walk for exercise, and I was like, I have to do something drastic,” he said. “So, I got the surgery, and it’s been a couple years now, and I probably saved my life. I’m not on any medication. Diabetes is gone.”
Five years after the surgery, the actor explained, he has “to be real selective” about what he eats because he only has “12 ounces to work with,” but he said the issue with that is “the fat Hulk is still running around” in his mind wanting to overindulge.
Aside from saving his life, the surgery and resulting weight loss also allowed him to do things he couldn’t do before, including hiking with his wife and buying something “off the rack” when shopping at the mall.
Gardell is enjoying the little things in life since losing weight. (Michael Simon/Getty Images)
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“It’s just those little freedoms that you go, ‘Wow, man. I’m so grateful I can do this now,'” he said. “I know those are simple, stupid things, but they mean the world to me.”
Gardell explained he decided to get healthy not only for himself, but also for his wife, Patty Knight and their son, William, calling them “my motivating factors.”
“It was like I don’t want to survive what I’ve survived, succeed where I succeeded and then not be able to get out of a chair. So, I had to look that in its face. And for anybody out there struggling, if I can do it, you can do it. And don’t let nobody tell you different. Do whatever it takes.”
Throughout his life, Gardell said he would often fluctuate, losing and gaining 30 pounds every year, noting that, at his heaviest, he weighed 379 pounds.
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Gardell starred alongside McCarthy on “Mike & Molly” for six years. (Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images)
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During an interview with People in December 2025, the actor said he now maintains his weight through diet and exercise, noting, “I fluctuate between 210 and 215” pounds.
Gardell rose to fame on the hit sitcom “Mike & Molly,” playing Melissa McCarthy’s husband on the show for six seasons from 2010 to 2016.
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