Billy Gardell’s transformation was visible to everyone. The moment that pushed him toward surgery was much less glamorous: after years of weight swings and mounting health concerns, a knee injury left the Mike & Molly star unable even to walk for exercise. He says the 2021 operation “probably saved” his life. Yet there is another part of the story a before-and-after photo cannot show—what still goes through his mind when he sits down to eat.

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Billy Gardell’s transformation was visible to everyone. The moment that pushed him toward surgery was much less glamorous: after years of weight swings and mounting health concerns, a knee injury left the Mike & Molly star unable even to walk for exercise. He says the 2021 operation “probably saved” his life. Yet there is another part of the story a before-and-after photo cannot show—what still goes through his mind when he sits down to eat.

2026/09/28 Report

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The Star Lost More Than 160 Pounds. What Happened Before the Surgery Was Far More Alarming

Billy Gardell could still make people laugh. What he could no longer do, he says, was count on his body to keep up with him.

The actor known to millions as one half of had spent years gaining and losing weight.

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Then came type 2 diabetes, concerns about cholesterol and his heart, and a knee injury that took away even walking as a way to exercise. His doctor told him he had to do something. For Gardell, the answer was bariatric surgery in 2021.

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