NBC
We Saw a Lot “Less” of These Reality Show Alums on ‘The Biggest Loser’
Most of the contestants who burned off the weight on The Biggest Loser were normal folk new to the reality TV experience, but a few were plenty familiar with unscripted stardom. Survivor's Richard Hatch, The Voice's Erin Willett, American Idol's Ruben Studdard, and True Life's Holley Mangold all competed in the latter years of the NBC reality show, and though none reigned victorious, they lost an average of around 86 pounds! Here's how each of these reality stars did during their TBL tenures…
Richard Hatch
This O.G. winner of Survivor, now 57, tested his mettle again on The Biggest Loser Season 17 in 2016, dropping from 314 pounds to 280 during his four weeks on the show. Afterward, he lost another 11 pounds. (Sounds like Hatched a new life for himself!)
Erin Willett
Joining Richard on Season 17 was Erin Willett, the Brooklyn-based semi-finalist of The Voice Season 2. She went even further on The Biggest Loser than her fellow reality alum did: The now 29-year-old went from 238 pounds to 179 in her 11 weeks on the show, then lost another 28 pounds by the time of the finale.
Ruben Studdard
American Idol's second-ever winner took time out of his music career to work on his body mass index on The Biggest Loser Season 15. The now-39-year-old was originally eliminated in Week 4, but he returned to the competition after it was revealed trainer Jillian Michaels had violated the rules by providing caffeine pills to her team. By the time of his second elimination in Week 8, he had dropped from 462 pounds to 392, and at home, he dropped down to 343!
Holley Mangold
This 28-year-old from Dayton, OH, was featured in the "I'm the Big Girl" episode of MTV's True Life, but that's not her only claim to fame: She also competed as a weightlifter in the 2012 London Olympics. A year later, she strutted her stuff in The Biggest Loser Season 15 along with Ruben, going from 351 pounds to 288 before getting eliminated in Week 7, then losing 33 more pounds by the time of the finale.
