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Who Decides If Jake Makes It? 5 People Ranked by Power Over Whitney’s Engagement

Who Decides If Jake Makes It? 5 People Ranked by Power Over Whitney’s Engagement

Whitney Way Thore — the woman whose verdict matters most, and the one holding the ring. (Still: TLC)

Glenn Thore turned 80 in February. He has not yet sat across a table from the man who put an aquamarine ring on his daughter’s finger after three months — but on Tuesday, November 17, at his own cookout, he finally will.

Sunday, November 15, brings Extra Fabulous: Are You Pregnant? — the premiere with bonus scenes, asking whether Whitney’s mystery man is a situationship or something more. Two days later, episode two gives the family its first real look at Jake Beaudoin. Here are the five people who will decide whether he makes it, ranked by power over the ring.

5. The Speakerphone Jury: The Friends Who Already Voted

Whitney’s friends delivered their verdict before Jake ever appeared on screen. In a preview clip shared November 9, Whitney put Jake on speakerphone — and within seconds the talk swerved from his body to his sexuality to the speed of the engagement. One friend said his voice suggested he could be “playing for the wrong team.” Another offered, “We call that DL [down low] or bisexual.” Whitney shut it down in one sentence — “The man’s not gay, henny.” But whether Whitney should listen to her friends about Jake is now the fandom’s loudest argument. They rank last: they judged a voice on a phone.

4. Jake Beaudoin: His Own Worst Witness

Jake Beaudoin holding a wine glass, listening during a conversation
Jake Beaudoin — the man who keeps talking himself into trouble. (Still: TLC)

Nobody has hurt Jake’s case more than Jake himself. Breauski, the 41-year-old North Carolina EDM producer, ghosted Whitney in 2018, then reconnected in Charlotte and proposed in the Blue Ridge. Then, on camera, he drew a line across her biggest dream. When Whitney asked whether she could use another man’s sperm to get pregnant, he answered flatly: “Uh, I would prefer not.” That sentence sits at the top of the five red flags fans spotted in the engagement. Episode two adds to the pile: Jake crashes Whitney’s halftime show against her wishes, outing them as an item. He can still win the room — but the cameras already heard where he stands.

3. Ashley Baynes: The Best Friend Who Knows Everything

If anyone can move Whitney, it is Ashley Baynes. She was the first to hear about the chemical pregnancy she kept secret for a month — the early-October IUI with donor sperm, her first positive test, a period days later. “It feels huge,” Whitney told her, holding up the test from October. Ashley was also there for the confession that still splits the fandom: “I’m 275 pounds; I am still huge.” Ashley has seen the whole story, not just the ring.

2. Glenn Thore: The 80-Year-Old Verdict at the Cookout

Tuesday is the first time Glenn gets to look the new man in the eye — after a decade of watching his daughter’s heart break on camera. The trailer shows the family grilling Jake on his intentions — and on whether he wants kids. At Glenn’s cookout, everyone grills Jake while Whitney worries they will expose her secret baby plan. If he welcomes Jake, the room relaxes. If not, no “never had a single worry” will steady the table.

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1. Whitney Way Thore: The Only Vote That Actually Counts

Whitney Thore smiling in a floral top during a confessional interview
Whitney Way Thore — the only vote that actually counts. (Still: TLC)

Everyone else gets an opinion. Whitney gets the decision. She lived the ghosting, the eight-year wait, the three-month sprint to a ring, the IUI, and the loss she carried alone. She is also the one already planning the wedding — Banff or Iceland — while admitting, “I’ve already planned. He doesn’t know a thing.” Her line has not moved: “I still want a baby. That’s my main objective.” Friends called it impulsive; her father has not weighed in. But the ring is on her finger, the baby plan is hers, and no cookout vote overrules her.

Episode two, “He’s My Friend That’s a Boy,” airs Tuesday, November 17, at 10 p.m. ET on TLC. When Glenn looks Jake in the eye across the cookout table, whose verdict will you trust — the dad who has watched every heartbreak since 2015, or the woman who has never had a single worry about him? Team Trust Glenn, or Team Let Whitney Decide?

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My Big Fat Fabulous Life

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