Warning! The following contains spoilers for My Big Fat Fabulous Life's Season 9 episode "From Tutor To Suitor." Read at your own risk!
Whitney Way Thore's failed romance with Chase Severino was the major storyline of Season 8, but Season 9 has put Chase fully in the rearview mirror. Whitney has moved on to a new man, and apparently, he's French. Well, at least we've been told he's French. Are the two really dating? Is her French teacher the man she previously hinted about on social media? Fans had all sorts of questions about the pair after the first two episodes of My Big Fat Fabulous Life's newest season, which threw a lot at viewers.
The latest episode featured the big reveal of this "French man," who Whitney Way Thore has hyped as a potential new boyfriend. My Big Fat Fabulous Life featured one of the their virtual French lessons, in which Whitney invited her mother without giving him a heads up. The episode continually implied there was mutual interest from both Whitney and the French tutor in taking things beyond teaching, but some viewers didn't get that vibe at all.
It certainly was an odd situation, especially given that Whitney Way Thore's French man declined to have his face shown on camera. Audiences only got audio and a blurred picture of him during the virtual French lesson. Perhaps it is a sign the relationship did not go well if he declined to consent to appear, or maybe even that he didn't feel there was a relationship to speak of. In fairness, Whitney has addressed this situation on social media and has stated he just prefers not to be publicly identified, or perhaps a part of the show's drama.
That aside, fans are still hung up on the details of Whitney Way Thore's "French Man." Mainly, many are still confused on whether or not the French man is actually French. Fans began to doubt the story of this tutor following the video lesson scene, in which they didn't hear a distinctly French accent.
I decided to do a bit of digging and returned to the premiere of My Big Fat Fabulous Life for answers, but I didn't leave the experience with much more to add. Whitney describes her French tutor as a "French man who lives in France." Referring to someone as a French man, one would assume, would mean they're a French-born national citizen, but could it also possibly be a descriptor for an American living abroad in France? The debate will likely rage on all of Season 9, though I'd hope we get more details that clear up this mystery on her new beau in future episodes.
My Big Fat Fabulous Life airs on TLC Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Season 9 has moved Whitney Way Thore's story past a lot of nastiness that occurred in Season 8, which is somewhat of a shame from a viewer standpoint. For example, will we ever get the resolution between her fallout with Ryan Andreas?
