In 1994, Stacey returned to
The Oprah Show for a
revealing look at what life is like for an obese person. She had put more than 100 pounds back on—weighing in at 514 pounds—and allowed our cameras to follow her around to capture the harsh realities of her everyday life.
Stacey recalled the moment she outgrew her car and could barely fit in the front seat, shared how she spent days at a time in bed and hiding in her dark bedroom, explained how she couldn't clean herself after using the bathroom without stepping into the shower, showed us her special two-mattress bed she slept in to support her weight and revealed that she literally pulled chunks of her hair out every day due to the stress and shame she felt for being so overweight.
These admissions left Oprah in tears. "It was very brave of you to [share] that," Oprah told her.
The hidden camera experience was even more revealing. When they thought Stacey was out of sight, people laughed at her, made cruel jokes at her expense and made derogatory comments about her size. Stacey admitted that these were all common occurrences. "It's as much a part of my life as brushing my teeth in the morning," she said. "But you can never prepare yourself [for the harassment]."
