“Mike & Molly” star Billy Gardell shares 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 have the surgery “probably saved my life” and described the circumstances that led him to decide it was the right path for him.
He explained that he developed type 2 diabetes and “cholesterol problems, heart problems,” joking that his doctor told him that “after 50, the guarantees start to run out.”
“You can’t outrun them. I think the only reason I’ve been able to survive this long is because, one, I have decent genetics, and two, I played sports when I was younger,” he said.
“So, I was a big guy, but I was a pretty strong big guy, and I could hold the weight for a long time, but ultimately you can’t get past that.”
After a certain point, Gardell said, his doctor came up to him and said, “You need to do something.” »
“I got to the point where I injured my knee and I couldn’t even walk to exercise, and I was like I need to do something drastic,” he said. “So, I had surgery, and it’s been a few years now, and it probably saved my life. I’m not on any medication. The diabetes is gone.”
Five years after surgery, the actor explained, he has to “be very selective” about what he eats because he only has “12 ounces to work with,” but he said the problem is that “the big Hulk is still running” in his mind and wanting to overdo it.
In addition to 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 “out of the box” when shopping at the mall.
“It’s just those little freedoms that make you go, ‘Wow, man. I’m so grateful to be able to do this now,'” he said. “I know they’re simple, stupid things, but they matter to me.”
Gardell explained that he decided to be healthy not only for himself, but also for his wife, Patty Knight, and their son, William, calling them “my motivators.”
“It was like I didn’t want to survive what I survived, succeed where I succeeded and then not be able to get out of a chair. So I had to face that. And for everyone who’s struggling, if I can do it, you can do it. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Do whatever it takes.”
Throughout his life, Gardell said he fluctuated often, losing and gaining 30 pounds each year, noting that at his heaviest he weighed 379 pounds.
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.
Gn entert
