Billy Gardell had already spent about a year taking Ozempic before undergoing bariatric surgery. Looking back, he says knowing then what he knows now might have changed the route he took.
The Mike & Molly star was prescribed Ozempic for type 2 diabetes and became a paid spokesperson connected to the medication before GLP-1 drugs became the weight-loss phenomenon they are today.
On the Sept. 22 episode of Breaking Bread with Tom Papa, Gardell said he lost about 12 pounds during that period before stopping the medication and ultimately having bariatric surgery in July 2021.
“Had I known it was a weight loss drug, I probably would’ve ridden that out,” Gardell said, according to Daily Beast reporting on the interview. Gardell now says the surgery “probably saved” his life and credits the larger health transformation with allowing him to participate in experiences he once had to watch from the sidelines.
Gardell Was Already Using Ozempic Before His Surgery
Gardell’s association with Ozempic was public years before celebrity use of GLP-1 medications became a regular entertainment-news subject. In 2020, Novo Nordisk included him in its My Type 2 Transformation initiative after his type 2 diabetes diagnosis, combining prescribed Ozempic with nutrition, exercise and coaching.
A 2021 diaTribe interview disclosed that Gardell was a paid Novo Nordisk spokesperson and had been prescribed Ozempic through his doctor. Gardell recalled taking Ozempic at a time when, in his words, people did not yet know it as a weight-loss drug.
That February, he also appeared in the branded “My Zone” television campaign, with Fierce Pharma reporting that the commercial centered on lowering his A1C and losing weight alongside diet and exercise.
Gardell now describes that period through the lens of what happened afterward. He told Tom Papa he had been on Ozempic for about a year, lost approximately 12 pounds and then moved on to surgery because he wanted a more sweeping change.
Gardell Says His Health Problems Made Surgery Feel Necessary
By the time Gardell chose surgery, his decision involved much more than a number on the scale. He said his weight had reached roughly 375 pounds during Mike & Molly and that he later lost around 100 pounds during the early years of Bob Hearts Abishola, but health problems continued accumulating.
Gardell told Breaking Bread that he was dealing with type 2 diabetes as well as cholesterol and heart concerns. After a knee injury made walking for exercise difficult, he said his doctor was increasingly clear that something had to change. PEOPLE previously reported that he underwent bariatric surgery on July 17, 2021 after his weight had climbed into the 370-to-380-pound range during the pandemic.
Gardell has repeatedly stressed that the operation was not a complete solution on its own. He changed his eating habits, began exercising consistently and continued working on what he has described as his emotional relationship with food. His weight has since stabilized at roughly 210 to 215 pounds.
Gardell Says the Surgery ‘Probably Saved’ His Life
The hypothetical about Ozempic does not appear to have changed how Gardell views the outcome of the surgery. On the podcast, he said he believes the operation “probably saved” his life and told Papa that he is no longer taking medication. Also, in a December 2025 PEOPLE interview, he said he felt stronger, had more energy and believed losing the weight had saved his life.
Gardell has also repeatedly described his type 2 diabetes as “gone.” Medically, the more precise term for sustained normal blood-sugar levels without glucose-lowering medication is remission, according to an international consensus convened by the American Diabetes Association and other diabetes organizations. Remission can require continued monitoring because type 2 diabetes can recur.
The Changes He Values Most Are Surprisingly Ordinary
Gardell’s favorite examples have less to do with the scale than with things he once struggled to do. He told Papa that he can now sit in an airplane’s middle seat, walk into a mall and buy clothes, and bend down to tie his shoes without the physical difficulty he once experienced.
Family trips changed too. Gardell said he can now go hiking with his wife, Patty, or join his son, William, when the family goes snorkeling instead of staying behind and hearing about the experience afterward. The Daily Beast noted that he described those seemingly small abilities as some of the most meaningful parts of his transformation.