Whitney Way Thore Juggles Relationship with French Boyfriend While Working with Ex Lennie
Whitney Way Thore is treading lightly when it comes to mixing personal and professional relationships in the upcoming season of My Big Fat Fabulous Life.
In PEOPLE's exclusive sneak peek of the Season 10 premiere, the 38-year-old contemplates hiring her ex-boyfriend Lennie to help her film an online fitness video, despite her current long-distance relationship with her French boyfriend, who she says are still going strong after many months together.
"If I'm gonna be honest, I of course have concerns. Lennie is an ex-boyfriend and I think it's just really easy to fall back into that kind of dynamic," Thore says in a confessional, noting that she has no one else for the job.
"I'm kind of torn because I'm desperate for someone to do this job and I think Lennie could do very well, but at the same time, he is an ex-boyfriend and I don't know how wise it is to introduce that into a professional relationship," she adds.
Thore's current relationship began last year after the couple met through online language tutoring. Her boyfriend — who asked to remain anonymous and hasn't been shown in full on Thore's TLC show or her Instagram — lives in Paris, and she and her friends simply refer to him as the "Frenchman."
RELATED: Whitney Way Thore Confirms That She's Still Dating Her French Boyfriend: 'Correct!'
In the preview, Lennie questions Thore's relationship status and admits he thought she was in an open relationship because he's not around.
"Open? The only thing that's open in our relationship is my heart," Thore tells Lennie with a laugh. "My mom actually asked, 'Whitney, does the Frenchman mind that your ex-boyfriend's over at your house all the time?' And I said no."
"I just really want to clear up though, our relationship is not anything weird. It's not anything inappropriate," the reality star adds in a confessional alongside Lennie. "Luckily my boyfriend is very not jealous and very not worried about you."
Thore even suggested that she'd like the two to meet each other, but Lennie was very hesitant about the idea, hinting at possible lingering feelings. She then told Lennie that if they're going to work together, he can't fall in love with her again.
"It has been pretty weird rekindling a relationship with Whitney when she has a boyfriend, but he's not really in the picture," Lennie says in the clip. "I've never even seen him so I kinda just pretend like he doesn't exist."
My Big Fat Fabulous Life premieres on Tuesday, August 9, at 10 pm ET/PT on TLC and will be available on discovery+ the same day.
