This article includes mentions of eating disorders and mental health issues.
When TLC’s “What Not to Wear” premiered in 2003, aspiring fashionistas were introduced to a new queen of personal style: Stacy London. Her chic outfits and stunning streak of gray hair were positively iconic, and her no-nonsense attitude and expert advice inspired many of us to consider revamping our own wardrobes. Along with co-host Clinton Kelly, London did more than just help guests update their cringe-worthy closets; she helped change their lives.
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Sadly, London’s own life wasn’t always as warm and fuzzy as the touching moments she shared with guests on “What Not to Wear,” and many of the tragic details are downright heartbreaking. From chronic illnesses to body dysmorphia, this fashion consultant-turned-author has seen more than her fair share of sadness and struggle. However, she has turned many of these hardships into shareable life lessons, inspiring us all over again with her words of wisdom. Here, we’ll reveal all of the personal tragedies London has faced over the years and how she has managed to persevere through it all.
Chronic health conditions have plagued her from an early age
Living with an autoimmune disease can be very challenging, but managing three of these conditions is especially daunting. Unfortunately for Stacy London, that is exactly what she has faced for most of her life. In an interview with Sollis Health, London opened up about the three diseases she has been diagnosed with: psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and Reynaud’s Syndrome. As London explains, psoriasis has been part of her life since childhood: “I was [diagnosed at] 3 1/2 years old. I was diagnosed after I felt small bumps behind my ear that felt like chicken skin. It got severe around 11 years old. I was covered in scales from the neck down.” She goes on to describe the onset of her other two illnesses: “I can’t remember when Reynaud’s Syndrome was discovered but it was sometime in my teens. My psoriatic arthritis wasn’t correctly diagnosed until I was in my early 40s, though I believe it started in my 30s.”
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One of the most difficult aspects of these conditions is the pain London sometimes suffers, especially from psoriatic arthritis. As she explained to Parade, “Everything is hard to move. There have been times where I’ve just been in so much pain that I haven’t gotten out of bed for a couple of days.” However, London has also shared some of the ways she manages her condition in the hopes of helping others. For example, she told Parade that it’s important to nurture your sense of confidence when dealing with psoriatic arthritis: “But you have to radically accept that this is the body that you have because it is difficult to live with and it is difficult not to be seen.”
She has a history of disordered eating habits
The fashion industry can be a difficult place when it comes to maintaining your self-esteem, and Stacy London seems to have been no exception. London’s first job out of college was working as a fashion assistant for Vogue, a position that put her right in the heart of the fashion world and, unfortunately, contributed to unhealthy eating habits. As she explained on “The Meredith Vieira Show,” she lost a whopping 60 pounds at the start of her journey into the fashion industry, dropping her weight down to just 89 pounds. She described why she went to such extremes: “That is the thing about eating disorders, it is not solely under your control — the really, really bad ones, I mean, they take hold and it is the blackest place you’ll [ever] go.”
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Although having an eating disorder made her early adulthood more challenging, it appears London has become more comfortable in her own skin over the years. In a 2021 Zoom interview with InStyle, London described how her relationship with herself and her weight has changed since her youth: “There are times when I have a rough go with body dysmorphia. My weight goes up and down and things like that. But as I’ve aged, I’ve also been able to learn how to manage all of those things.” We’re happy to see that London has been able to turn this difficult part of her life into something positive.
If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA’s Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
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She had a decade-long feud with Clinton Kelly
Even the best friendships can experience downturns, but long-term falling-outs are particularly sad to witness. The on-screen chemistry between Stacy London and Clinton Kelly was one of the best aspects of their 10-year run on “What Not to Wear,” but it appears that magic didn’t always translate IRL. In 2017, Clinton Kelly released a memoir entitled “I Hate Everyone, Except You,” which hinted at strife between the two. Kelly wrote (via Us Weekly): “I either adored her or despised her and never anything in between.” Although this comment was relatively vague, the attention it received didn’t sit will with London, who chose to block Kelly on X, formerly known as Twitter, without a word.
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Unfortunately, that small act led to years of radio silence between the two, seemingly ending a friendship that TLC fans adored. However, time seems to have healed some of the rift between them. In a 2023 episode of “Today with Hoda & Jenna,” the two appeared together on television for the first time since the “What Not to Wear” finale and addressed the feud. London mentioned that seeing the damning quote circulating on social media was hard to handle: “So, when I saw the clickbait, I was hurt, I was definitely hurt. And it was hard to kind of reconcile that.”
Eventually, Kelly had enough of the distance between them: “I was like, ‘I can’t take this anymore.’ Because we don’t really hate each other. We love each other, as a matter of fact.” Thanks to their mutual willingness to forgive, this tragedy has a happy ending: the two reconciled during the pandemic in 2020.
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Spinal surgery threw her life off course
As if managing multiple chronic diseases wasn’t challenging enough, Stacy London faced another health scare in late 2016. As London describes in an essay for Refinery29, years of chronic pain burned through her treatment options, leaving surgery as the only viable course of action: “I was going to need surgery. And not just any surgery, very expensive spinal surgery. My doctor had to go in and fuse vertebrae that were loose because they were grinding against each other, effectively turning my discs to powder.”
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London underwent the procedure in December of that year, which was supposed to resolve her chronic pain. However, it would be a long time before the surgery put an end to London’s struggles, and a complex road to recovery lay ahead of her. As she describes, recovery meant long periods of even more discomfort as her body slowly healed, and the process took far longer than she had anticipated. Sadly, as London explains, the physical pain wasn’t the only difficult part of that journey; she also battled clinical depression. The unexpectedness of its onset was particularly troubling: “It’s scary. And no one really explained this to me.” To make matters worse, her romantic relationship at the time fell apart, as did her finances.
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In the end, however, London was able to begin the equally long process of rebuilding her life. She concluded her essay with an uplifting statement about wanting to pick up the pieces: “What I want now is some glue. And hope is very sticky, indeed.”
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
Her father died in 2018
In 2018, Stacy London faced one of the most difficult events of all: the death of her father, Herbert London. According to his obituary in The New York Times, he died of heart failure after a life spent in academia and a brief foray into New York politics. In an episode of the “Unstyled” podcast, Stacy described being present for her father’s tragic passing: “I was with him when he died. Not the act of dying but the moments after that. … His eyes were wide open. They were still alive to me.” She went on to explain the difficult emotions she wrestled with as a result of this loss: “It was the emptiest, loneliest feeling in the world and I still feel bad. I still feel that when I think about the void that he left.”
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That void is still clearly a part of Stacy’s life, and she regularly shares commemorative posts dedicated to her father on social media. For example, she shared a sweet photo from her childhood on Instagram for what would have been her father’s birthday in 2024. London also shares photos of her father every year in honor of Father’s Day, which often depict him as a young man in happier times. Her choice to honor him in this way is a beautiful reminder that you can still keep a loved one’s memory alive long after their death.
