Ruby

[MatthewDuggar]

Did anyone else watch this show that was on Style network several years ago?  It followed Ruby Gettinger's life as she struggled to lose weight.  (which didn't happen).  I follow her on FB and it seems like she's been trying desperately to resurrect her show in any form possible since it was cancelled.   I enjoyed watching but it really started to be the same thing over and over again...  I would love to hear what other thought of the show, her,  ect...

[Eternalbluepearl]

I vaguely remember this. She seemed like a sweet person who needed a lot of help. I wish her luck in getting healthy. 

[quiversR4hunting]

I watched a few episodes and agree @MatthewDuggar that it repeated a lot. Her whining about everything drove me nuts.

She seems to need a lot of therapy and weight loss. Maybe Chris & Heidi Powell (from Extreme Weight Loss) could take on her case. http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-weight-loss/about-the-show

Since you are friends with her on f/b does it seem like she is even trying without the TV cameras to fix her life?

[Closed Womb]

I watched, and liked, the show.  Ruby's voice took a lot of getting used to, but I eventually found her pretty charming.  

I liked when the show focused on weight loss and exercise and the relationships with her friends.  I hated when they got into the therapy aspect of it all, especially with that squinty-eyed woman, Tessie or Tennie or something odd like that. It seems like Ruby was just hinting about childhood sexual abuse, but not saying it.  If this is the case, for the love of all that's good and right, get your freaking therapy off camera, where you can talk.  I got sick of the constant teasers that led to nothing.  

Personally, I've known many people who had big weight loss, usually through WLS, that plateaued at a fairly high weight (I mean, THEY felt awesome at 200 lbs, having lost 200-300 lbs, but it's not uncommon for a 200 lbs person to be trying to diet.)  So, I'm of the opinion that Ruby could have plateaued, got discouraged, etc.  I still give her high praise for her 400 ish (I think?) lb weight loss.

 

[Screamapillar]

I remember Ruby! I actually think of her sometimes when I see TLC Commercials for those My 600 Pound Life Shows or whatever they're called. I thought she was quite likeable, and as others have said, in need of real therapy. And I think there was a kind of greasy ex-boyfriend who rode a motorcycle. Maybe his name was Denny? (If that name is correct, I don't even want to think about what valuable knowledge was pushed out of my brain in order to retain such a random reality TV factoid). I remember a scene where she was with her friends teenage sons and there was a tornado warning in which they all went into the bathroom for shelter. She was too big to fit into the bathtub, and the boys' concern for her safety was heartbreakingly sweet. Living in "Dixie Alley", I remember this scene sometimes when tornado sirens go off and I have to seek shelter. (Off topic, but I always get in the closet instead of the bathroom, because I have a ridiculous but very real concern that a tornado might kill me with a flying toilet)

[MatthewDuggar]

Yes, Denny was the ex-boyfriend.  He appeared a few times during the run of the show.  It seemed as if he was mainly doing it just to be on camera.  

I agree about the constant teasers that were really nothing.  I know reality shows often do this, but this show was the worst at that.

Other than her silly "Ruby-speak", she really does seem sweet and quite smart, I don't know why she doesn't go back to school and enter the workforce.  It seems like she has no other goal that to get back on TV so she can continue to "motivate" people. With that said,  I'm not sure why she doesn't get more actual speaking engagement bookings anymore.  She really needs a better manager.  

http://writerubygettinger.wix.com/rubygettinger

[Jennifer Hart]

Yes, I used to watch Ruby.  It was enjoyable initially but she stopped making progress, didn't seem to want anymore help and started whining all the time.  They finally seemed like they were getting to the root of her issues with child abuse but she never admitted to anything happening and just kept drifting.  It became frustrating after a while.  Once she started gaining weight back I think the producers gave up and cancelled the show.  People will lose interest in a weight loss story if no weight is being lost.  

The whole ex boyfriend thing was odd.

I agree that all she does now is pitch to be back on tv.  

[MatthewDuggar]

Her latest pitch seems to be wanting a show where she travels all over the US in an RV going from state to state encouraging people.  I honestly don't have all the details as I can only take about 5 minutes listening to her talking.  I'm just not sure what qualifies her to provide this kind of service on that large of a scale.  She definitely is a warm, somewhat funny lady that has gone through many struggles, but there really hasn't been some major transformation that I would call inspiring from her life.  It is encouraging that despite all of her struggles with weight, she remains a very upbeat and optimistic person.  As I said earlier, she's smart enough to go back to school and get a degree in psychology, this way she would be in a great position to perhaps open a practice and legitimately help people while making a living.  The luck of having a brief reality show seems to have convinced her that she can go it alone.  As I am writing this, I'm thinking maybe she already has a degree of some sort, but I could be wrong, does anyone recall?