If you watched Biggest Loser this past season, it was a special series – couples! There was a mother/daughter couple, a father/daughter couple, best friends, married couples, and even divorced couple. The divorced couple – Kelly Fields and Paul Marks – came in weighing quite a bit. Kelly weighed in at 271 – the heaviest female on this season. Paul wasn’t the heaviest male, but at 310 and only 5’ 4”, he was certainly at risk. His father and grandfather, both overweight, died before the age of 50. Already 43, Paul was looking to break that cycle.
Although he and Kelly were divorced, they proved to be good friends to each other on the show. At the beginning, Paul still held romantic feelings for Kelly, but by the time he left, they realized they were better as friends. Paul was eliminated, but not before he shed 67 pounds. Obviously lost without Paul’s support, Kelly managed to tough it out and went on to finish in third place, losing 109 pounds.
All the contestants appeared at the finale except Paul. The host of the show said Paul was ill and unable to attend, but several days later, Kelly later reported that he was very, very ill and in the hospital.
Now friends are wondering if his problems stem from trying to lose the weight too quickly on the show. Paul was eliminated on February 19th and since then, he has been fighting for his life, according to some sources. At the end of the episode where Paul left, the show reported that he was in the hospital with pneumonia. Since then, he has had five surgeries and a bout with gangrene. He has had six to nine inches of his colon removed and had to have his appendix removed as well. Sources say that Paul can stand, but not walk and even standing is agonizing.
Friends are afraid that the diet and physical activity he had to endure while on the show is to blame for his health problems. However, a spokesman for the show said they had heard Paul’s doctors credit the show with saving his life.
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