“I’m so hot-natured.” That’s Whitney Way Thore on the one thing standing between her and the wedding she has pictured for years. In a new E! News interview published November 4, the 42-year-old star named her dream and fear in one breath: Banff, Canada, or Iceland — outdoors, in the cold. “That’s always been my biggest fear about getting married, because I’m so hot-natured. My first thought is, ‘I have to get married outside in the cold and how are people going to function?'”
“I’m So Hot-Natured” — The Fear at the Center of the Fantasy
Then she waved it away: “It’s my wedding, so, whatever.” The fantasy stays; the cold stays. She has never visited Banff, yet the vision, she says, has “been on ice for quite a while.” Iceland is the other finalist. Both are places where a winter coat is not a fashion choice, and an outdoor ceremony means cold guests, a cold bride, and weather she cannot control — the worry, tellingly, is for the guests.
Banff vs. Iceland: A Mountain Lake or a Land of Ice
Banff is the postcard: a mountain lake, a resort town she has dreamed about without ever visiting. Iceland is the bolder pick — the one she named out loud in an Emmys green room, before Jake had caught up. One is a years-old fantasy; the other is the answer she gives on the spot. No venue, no date — only the shortlist.
“He Doesn’t Know a Thing” — The Groom Is Not on Her Level
The funniest thread: how little of this Jake knows. Asked in September where they might marry, Whitney answered for both: “I’ve already planned. He doesn’t know a thing.” In the green room that night, she said “Iceland.” Jake said, “Oh, that would be cool.” Her reply: “What do you mean? We’ve already talked about this.”
The E! interview tells the same story: asked about plans, Jake’s instinct was to say they had not started. “We haven’t?” Whitney said. Then the correction: “You haven’t. I have and I’ve been talking your ear up about it.” She calls him “pretty easygoing,” with “no resistance so far.” Then the kicker: “Men! I basically got everything planned. He’s not even on my level in any capacity at all, but that’s okay.”
Will the Cameras Be There?
Her answer: hopefully. “I’ve shared my entire life for 14 seasons. I don’t think I’m going to stop at my wedding. So hopefully cameras will be there, yes.” That “hopefully” is doing real work: TLC has announced no wedding special. Season 14, premiering Tuesday, November 10 at 10 p.m. ET, was filmed before the proposal — so this planning belongs to a chapter the show has not caught up with yet. If they roll, the payoff is the partnership: “I’m just so excited for the making official of the partnership,” she told E!, “just feeling like, ‘Good, we did it.'”
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Two Proposals Down, No Cold Feet
This is Whitney’s third engagement. She has accepted two previous proposals, including Chase Severino’s in October 2019 — which ended when she learned he was expecting a baby with another woman. She admits she has “very little faith in men,” and needed time to trust Jake after he ghosted her in 2018. She still brings it up: “I bring it up constantly!”
The difference this time is that the man kept proving her wrong. E! notes she doesn’t anticipate any cold feet. The fear is reserved for the weather. The marriage is the part she is sure about.
So: a shortlist, no venue; one planner, not two; a camera crew hoped for, not confirmed. Banff or Iceland — and if it is outdoors in the cold, are you team “freeze for the photos” or team “heated tent”? Tell us — and whether Jake will find out before the invitations go out.
