Former “Extreme Weight Loss” participant Brandi Mallory died last month at age 40 from “complications of obesity,” according to an autopsy report.
The document from the Fulton County Medical Examiner, obtained by People, listed Mallory’s death as “natural” and found that there was “no evidence of significant recent injury.” The report, the magazine said, also noted that trace amounts of marijuana and alcohol were in the former reality star’s system, but that they didn’t factor into her death.
A spokesperson for the medical examiner did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Times.
Mallory, who also worked as a makeup artist and advocated for body positivity, participated in the fourth season of ABC’s makeover reality show “Extreme Weight Loss” in 2014. While on the program, Mallory lost nearly 150 pounds and later started a podcast in which she discussed it.
She was found dead Nov. 9 in Stone Mountain, Ga. Law enforcement officials said that she was discovered unconscious in her car in a parking lot after picking up dinner from a restaurant the previous night.
Mallory was raised by Mormon parents and grew up participating in the world of beauty pageants. When Mallory was 10, a pageant judge commented harshly on her weight and, by the time she was 12, Mallory decided to pull out of competitions because of constant criticism.
According to a 2018 interview, the Clark Atlanta University alum said she decided to begin losing weight after one of her sorority sisters died at age 29 of a heart attack.
“It was devastating … and I was literally waking up every day like, ‘This might be my last day waking up,’” she said. “When it’s playing on your mind that, ‘I might have to do something about my weight because I’m afraid that I might die too,’ then you might need to pay attention to something like that.”
Chris Powell, who served as the host and trainer on “Extreme Weight Loss,” spoke fondly of his time with Mallory following her death.
“She just had that spark of life and love,” Powell told People in November. “This whole thing really sucks, the fact that she’s gone. But I mean, gosh, spending a year with someone, you go through a lot and we share a lot. Countless times of just all hanging out together and just laughing our asses off and having fun and joking around and playing pranks on people.”
A funeral service for Mallory took place on Nov. 20 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Tucker, Ga., and was attended by her friends and family.
