The Price Is Right host Drew Carey looked slimmer than ever as he stepped out to enjoy a solo lunch in Los Angeles.
The trimmed-down comedian, 66, was spotted at iconic Hollywood diner Swingers as he enjoyed some downtime from his hosting duties.
Carey, wearing a gray shirt and jeans, sat down with a newspaper and a club sandwich with all the trimmings before driving himself home in a vibrantly colored, eye-catching Mini Cooper.
The legendary TV host’s radical weight loss in recent years came after a high-profile battle with diabetes, which he overcame after 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 shed over 80 pounds following a high-profile battle with diabetes, which he proudly said earlier this year allows him to take ‘no medications’ for the disease
Carey, pictured in 2008, is into his 17th year as the host of The Price Is Right, but has insisted he has no retirement plans and is ‘not going anywhere’
Carey’s afternoon out in LA marks a rare public sighting for the comedian, who has remained single since the shocking murder of his sex therapist fiancée Amie Harwick in February 2020.
Authorities convicted Harwick’s ex-boyfriend Gareth Pursehouse with her murder last year, which Carey said finally gave him closure over the tragedy.
‘I can barely remember the guy’s name — that’s how much I’ve put him out of my life — but ever since the final sentencing, it feels like we’ve all let out a breath and are able to finally move on,’ he told People.
‘The whole process is over now, and there’s nothing else to be done and nothing else to worry about… Just speaking just for myself, it’s been quite a load off.’
While the star has continued to host The Price Is Right, which he has done since Bob Barker retired in 2007, Carey said that he keeps Harwick close to his heart as he goes on with his career.
He said he keeps a photo of her in his dressing room that he looks at just before stepping on stage, saying she is ‘with me always.’
‘A lot of times I’ll feel like I’ll be thinking things through, and it’s almost like I can hear her voice saying, ‘Well, really, it’s because of this and that.’ It’s really nice, honestly,’ he added.
The comedian drove home alone in an eye-catching Mini Cooper, which came with a license plate reading: ‘I’d rather be trippin’
Following his dramatic weight loss, the star admitted earlier this year that he is ‘not taking my shirt off at the pool, but yeah, I 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 far larger man back in the days of his breakout hit, The Drew Carey Show, but he has successfully shed over 80 pounds after being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes over a decade ago.
He proudly said that his weight loss allowed him to overcome his diabetes completely, and now takes ‘no medications’ for the disease.
Carey achieved the feat by limiting carbs in his diet and stepping up his workout routine, although he admitted to Entertainment Tonight in February that he feels he has ‘got a few more to lose.’
‘I’m not taking my shirt off at the pool, but yeah, I lost a few pounds.’
He told Men’s Journal that before keeping the weight off, he was a yoyo dieter who lost and gained ‘1,000lbs over my whole life.’
But after Carey was spotted eating a large gourmet sandwich and fries at Swingers, an insider told Closer Weekly that they feared he may be ‘slipping into his old habits’ amid allegations The Price Is Right is ‘fixed’.
‘All the producers are very clear nothing on the show is rigged. But he feels attacked — and when he’s upset, his coping mechanism in the past has been food,’ the source said.
‘He could end up piling all the weight back on and putting his health in danger.’
Carey was spotted enjoying a sandwich at iconic Tinseltown diner Swingers in Hollywood
Drew chowed down on a large gourmet sandwich and fries, which an insider feared could be a sign he was ‘slipping into his old habits’ to deal with stress
Although he looked thinner than ever in his most recent trip to Swingers, he said that before he lost weight, the restaurant was one of his favorite places to chow down.
‘I would go out to Swingers Diner after The Price Is Right in my first year, get a plate of pasta, a cupcake and iced tea with a bunch of lemons,’ he recalled.
‘Then I’d go home, have Doritos and several Pepsis, and take an Ambien to go to sleep. It was miserable to live like that.’
Now into his 17th year of hosting, Carey said he has no retirement plans, telling Entertainment Tonight earlier this year he’s ‘not going anywhere.’
‘I think Bob (Barker) made a mistake by retiring,’ he added. ‘I’m not gonna make that same mistake.’
Carey opened up about his love of the game show earlier this month, when he made a startling admission about why some contestants appear to act bizarrely while on the air.
He told TV Insider that to get over their pre-filming nerves, many contestants have a drink or ingest marijuana to take the edge off – admitting it ‘happens here all the time.’
‘They’ll have a gummy, or I’ll smell alcohol on their breath,’ Carey said. ‘It’s not unusual.’
Carey was far from judgmental about contestants’ imbibing, and said meeting ‘normal people that live normal lives’ is his favorite part of the long-running show.
‘This is average America right here,’ he continued.
‘There are no CEOs, ultra-rich upper management,’ Carey said. ‘These are middle class, working class. Every religion. It’s a cross-section of America. Regular people are more interesting than celebrities.’
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