Rosie O’Donnell’s 50-Pound Weight Loss No Super-Thin Celebration, But A Marriage-Saver

It seems Rosie O’Donnell’s amazing 50-pound weight loss was an emotional nightmare, and was based on an ultimatum from her then future wife, Michelle Rounds, who put it plain and simple: lose weight or there will be no wedding.

When The View premiered on Monday, fans and critics learned a few things they likely didn’t know before: the two new co-hosts were introduced — and yes, Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace looked like newbies — and Barbara Walters would be watching the show from afar.

And as an added bonus, viewers learned a little known secret about Rosie O’Donnell: she lost 50-pounds and has not only struggled through the extreme dieting and lifestyle changes, Rosie’s weight loss was part of a condition for marriage to her second wife.

While on set, O’Donnell dished to ABC News about her journey through slimming down and living a healthier lifestyle. And let’s just say, her road to losing weight wasn’t rosy at all — far from it.

“The fact that I look so different has been difficult and unexpected. Everyone assumes that obese people would just be jumping for joy that they were healthier and thinner and able to fit into store-bought sizes, we don’t have to go to the plus store. But it’s also filled with a lot of emotional turbulence you wouldn’t expect.”

The backstory to Rosie O’Donnell’s decision to lose weight is rather interesting, and she owes a large part to her current wife. Given the larger-than-life stature of the veteran comic, it’s hard to believe she would surrender to anyone, but it seems love is something even Rosie couldn’t thwart.

“When we decided to get married, she said, ‘But I want 40 more years and I don’t want you to die on me, so you need to do something for your health.'”

Rosie agreed, but not before having to deal with her fiance’s shocking diagnosis. In June of 2012, Rosie learned Rounds was suffering from desmoid tumors, a very rare form of cancer that affects soft connective tissue. Instantly, O’Donnell turned to her side and stayed there until she was out of woods.

Then, months later, Rosie O’Donnell suffered a heart attack that nearly ended her life. Not surprisingly, Michelle was there to repay the favor — and to remind her that the losing weight ultimatum was still on the table.

“The stress of that as well as being as big as I was, as well as being so depleted in every way, I had a massive heart attack. So, since then, I can’t ignore it anymore. It’s not like I don’t want the cupcake that I saw, I just know that that’s not a good choice.”

O’Donnell admitted that she “wasn’t in the best place” the last time she was a co-host on The View in 2007. Then, she was going through a tumultuous divorce from her first wife, Kelli Carpenter.

“When you are getting a divorce and you have children involved and you are two people who are intelligent and love your children and each other and know it’s not going to work, it takes a long time. So, I was in the midst of that and wasn’t in the best place. Now Kelli is happily married…. I’m happily married, I have a new baby, which for me is better than any Prozac.”

Today, Rosie O’Donnell is healthy, enjoying life as a new mom, back in the saddle empowering women and speaking her mind and 50 pounds lighter. She credits much of her weight loss success to her wife and a support group of women that talks openly about marriage, it’s pitfalls and living a healthy lifestyle without regrets.

[Image via: ETOnline]