Whitney Way Thore with her father Glenn Thore and brother Hunter Thore.Photo:TLC

TLC
Whitney Way Thore’s dad is front and center in the new season ofMy Big Fat Fabulous Life.
In PEOPLE’s exclusive video of the season premiere, the 39-year-old — along with her father Glenn Thore and brother Hunter — attends a heartfelt funeral to celebrate the life of her mother Barbara “Babs” Thore, who died on December 7, 2022 ofcerebral amyloid angiopathy.
Ahead of the new season, Whitney spoke to PEOPLE about how much closer her family has gotten while coping with her mother’s death and how fans will now see her father step into the spotlight on the reality show.
“I joke a lot with my dad. I’ve always said that my mom was the star of the show. This was all just really a vehicle for her to be brought to the world,” she explains. “And now that she’s gone, I told dad, ‘You’re going to have big shoes to fill.’ And I think he actually did.”
Whitney jokes that her dad is a “different brand of funny” than her mom was, noting that the show will see her and Hunter create a bucket list of adventurous activities for their dad to do in order to cheer him up after Babs’ death.
“This season was really centered on him and taking care of him and creating his bucket list,” she says. “We see a whole new side of Glenn Thore. He’s no longer Glenn Thore, he’s rebranded as GT and he’s a whole new man.”
Whitney Way Thore with her father Glenn Thore and brother Hunter Thore.TLC

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In addition to Glenn showing off a new side of himself this season, Whitney is also making some changes moving forward.
The reality star and creator of fitness program app, No BS Active, admits that she’s been very unapologetic when it comes to her life and her critics online.
“Being in the public eye shows you the best of people, and then it also shows you the worst. And it’s something I really still wish I was naive to, honestly,” she explains. “For me, it’s easy not to take it very personally most of the time, but it still is so demoralizing in the sense of I’m just like, wow, people are so horrible. People are awful. People are bullies.”
Even so, Whitney’s ready to turn down the volume on all that outside noise, telling PEOPLE, “I just want to focus on the people in my life who are important and who I love.”
source: people.com