“RHONJ”'s Lauren Manzo Shuts Down Critic Who Says She Looks Too Different After Weight Loss: 'I Was 100 Lbs. Heavier'
The 36-year-old said although she is a public figure, that “doesn’t mean I’m public property” and people shouldn't feel free to comment on her looks
Dave Kotinsky/Getty, Lauren Manzo/TikTok
Lauren Manzo before and after her weight loss journeyLauren Manzo has continued to clap back at critics who say she has lost too much weight
The former Bravo personality has spoken about losing 100 lbs. with the help of Mounjaro and a gluten-free, dairy-free diet
The 36-year-old stressed that although she is a public figure, that “doesn’t mean I’m public property” and people don't have the right to leave her hateful messages
Lauren Manzo is shutting down critics who have opinions about her appearance.
On May 3, the 36-year-old daughter of Real Housewives of New Jersey alum Caroline Manzo posted a video on Instagram showing off her stomach since losing 100 lbs. The post received numerous comments from people criticizing her weight loss journey and new slim figure.
“You don't even look like yourself anymore,” one critic wrote, to which she replied, “I was 100 lbs. heavier and very unhealthy. So I hope not.”
She even responded to one person who claimed she had a tummy tuck, insisting that her transformation was nonsurgical.
In the clip, Manzo is talking about the body sculpting she’s gotten done since losing weight. One critic commented, “I wish you would also promote the importance of dieting and exercising on top of the body sculpting! Sculpting doesn’t prevent heart disease! Healthy dieting and exercise does!”
“I talk constantly about my functional medicine Dr and my major lifestyle changes to my health,” the Manzo'd with Children star clapped back.
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Although she didn’t reply to any others, Manzo also liked a comment from one fan who defended her, writing, “To everyone on here commenting on her body, just f-ing STOP, It’s 2024 and there is no reason why anybody should be talking about her body but her, especially a bunch of strangers on the Internet.”
“LEAVE THIS GIRL ALONE! You talk when you think she’s too big and you talk when you think she’s too small, go away. She looks happy and she looks healthy, not that it’s any of our business.”
Manzo later posted a TikTok video stressing that although she puts herself on social media as a “public figure,” it “doesn’t mean I’m public property” and people shouldn’t feel like they have the right to leave her hateful messages.
“You’re right, I do think I am too skinny right now. I’ve been doing certain things to gain weight but also maintain. I’ve yo-yoed still. I definitely still do not have a healthy relationship with my weight and I’m willing to admit that,” she began.
“But the same people that were commenting stuff like, ‘She looks like a skeleton. She looks terrible,’ are the same people that were commenting that I looked like a whale when I was 200 lbs.,” she continued. “I can’t win. And that’s okay because truthfully, I am happy… I don’t really know why anybody thinks that they have the right to comment something terrible on my stuff or anybody else’s.”
In May 2023, Manzo revealed she lost 30 lbs. with the help of Mounjaro — an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes.
It's a brand name for tirzepatide, which has been proven to be highly effective for weight loss by reducing appetite and improving how the body breaks down sugar and fat. Mounjaro is similar to Ozempic — a brand name for semaglutide — which works in the brain to impact satiety, and has been trending in Hollywood circles for weight loss.
Manzo said she started taking the drug for weight loss because she was "considered morbidly obese" at 280 lbs., which caused her struggle with her mental health.
The former Bravo personality turned to a functional medicine doctor, who put her on a gluten-free and dairy-free diet. She said she lost 50 lbs. on the new diet but "couldn't lose any more," so her doctor introduced her to Mounjaro.
"Since February I've lost 30 lbs. from Mounjaro," she said on Page Six's Virtual Reali-Tea podcast. "And I get it — people don't like it, people don't applaud it, people aren't whatever, but it's a shot in your stomach once a week, it's the same as Ozempic … You guys have seen the struggle with this since I'm 20 years old, and it's been really hard for me."
"I understand that people that are prediabetic or that are diabetic do need this, but I also do believe that [the Ozempic trend has] helped people," Manzo said at the time. "I mean, I'm not gonna lie, I feel like there have been times that I've been on the brink of an eating disorder or had issues myself. And this is the one thing — even above weight loss surgery — that has helped me a lot and cured me and mentally made me so much better. And I'm really grateful for it."
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