The Price Is Right host Drew Carey looked slimmer than ever as he headed out for lunch alone in Los Angeles.
The 66-year-old, slimmed-down comedian was spotted at the iconic Hollywood restaurant Swingers, where he took a break from his hosting duties.
Dressed in a gray T-shirt and jeans, Carey sat down with a newspaper and a club sandwich with all the trimmings before driving home in a flashy, brightly colored Mini Cooper.
The legendary TV presenter has undergone a radical weight loss in recent years after a high-profile battle with diabetes, which he overcame by shedding over 80 pounds as a self-confessed ‘yo-yo dieter’.
Drew Carey looked slimmer than ever as he made a rare public appearance in Los Angeles
The legendary comedian lost more than 80 pounds after a high-profile battle with diabetes, which allowed him to proudly go “off medication” for the disease earlier this year.
Carey, pictured in 2008, is in his 17th year as host of The Price Is Right but has insisted he has no plans to retire and is ‘not going anywhere’
Carey’s afternoon out in LA marks a rare public appearance for the comedian, who has remained single since the shocking murder of his sexologist fiancée Amie Harwick in February 2020.
Last year, authorities convicted Harwick’s ex-boyfriend Gareth Pursehouse of her murder, a move Carey said finally gave him some sense of closure over the tragedy.
“I can barely remember the man’s name – that’s how much I’ve cut him out of my life – but since the final sentencing it feels like we’ve all caught our breath and can finally move on with our lives,” he said. People.
“The whole process is over now and there is nothing left to do or worry about… Speaking only for myself, it has been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.”
Though the star still hosts The Price Is Right, which he has done since Bob Barker retired in 2007, Carey said he is holding Harwick close to his heart as he continues his career.
He said he keeps a photo of her in his dressing room that he looks at just before he goes on stage, adding that she is “always with me.”
“I often feel like I’m thinking about things and it’s like I hear her voice saying, ‘Well, it’s really because of this and that.’ That’s really nice,” he added.
The comedian drove home alone in a flashy Mini Cooper, which was equipped with a license plate that read: ‘I’d rather be tripping’
Following his dramatic weight loss, the star admitted earlier this year that he “doesn’t take his shirt off at the pool anymore, but yeah, I’ve lost a few pounds.”
The 66-year-old has remained single since the shocking murder of his sex therapist fiancée Amie Harwick in February 2020, pictured together in 2017
Followers of Carey’s decades-long career may remember him as a much stockier man during the days of his breakthrough hit The Drew Carey Show, but he’s managed to lose more than 80 pounds since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes more than a decade ago.
He proudly shared that thanks to his weight loss he had completely overcome his diabetes and that he now “doesn’t need any medication” for the disease.
Carey achieved this feat by limiting the carbohydrates in his diet and stepping up his exercise routine, although he admitted that Entertainment tonight in February that he felt he had “a few things left to lose.”
“I’m not going to take my shirt off at the pool, but yes, I did lose a few pounds.”
He told Men’s diary that before he managed to maintain his weight, he yo-yo dieted and lost and regained 1,000 pounds “over the course of his life.”
But after Carey was spotted eating a large gourmet sandwich and fries at Swingers, an insider told Closer Weekly they were worried he was “falling back into his old habits,” amid accusations that The Price Is Right is “fixed.”
“All the producers are very clear that nothing on the show is manipulated. But he feels attacked — and when he’s angry, his coping mechanism in the past has been food,” the source said.
“He could easily gain weight again and endanger his health.”
Carey was spotted enjoying a sandwich at iconic Tinseltown restaurant Swingers in Hollywood
Drew ate a large gourmet sandwich and fries, which an insider said could be a sign he was “falling back to his old habits” to cope with stress
Although he looked slimmer than ever during his last visit to Swingers, he said the restaurant was one of his favorite places to eat before he lost weight.
“After The Price Is Right my freshman year, I would go to Swingers Diner and order a plate of pasta, a cupcake, and iced tea with a bunch of lemons,” he recalls.
“Then I would go home, have Doritos and multiple Pepsis, and take an Ambien to go to sleep. It was miserable living like that.”
Carey has been hosting for 17 years now and said he has no plans to retire. Entertainment tonight Earlier this year he said he was “not going anywhere.”
“I think Bob (Barker) made a mistake by retiring,” he added. “I’m not going to make the same mistake.”
Carey spoke openly about his love for the game show earlier this month, when he made a surprising confession about why some contestants behave strangely during the broadcast.
He told TV Insider that many contestants have a drink or use marijuana to calm their nerves before filming, admitting that it “happens all the time here.”
“They’ll take a candy, or I’ll smell alcohol on their breath,” Carey said. “That’s not unusual.”
Carey was not quick to judge the contestants’ drinking, saying that meeting “normal people living normal lives” was his favorite part of the long-running show.
“This is average America,” he continued.
“There are no CEOs, ultra-rich executives,” Carey said. “This is the middle class, the working class. Every religion. It’s a cross-section of America. Regular people are more interesting than celebrities.”
