Inside ‘My Big Fat Fabulous Life’ Star Whitney Way Thore’s ‘Dopamine Apartment’

When “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” star Whitney Way Thore moved back to her home state of North Carolina, she fell in love with Jake Beaudoin—and the whimsical Charlotte apartment they now share.

The 42-year-old reality TV personality began renting the “tiny, but enough” one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 830-square-foot unit in December 2025 following her unintentionally brief residency at a New England-style cottage in Salem, MA.

“I love Salem so much, but I had some issues that we didn't really cover in the season, some extended family things. My dad needed a little bit more help at home, so I decided to come on back,” Thore reveals in the latest installment of Celebrity Sanctuary.

Rather than returning to her old stomping ground at the Greensboro, NC, home she still holds or her family’s nearby property, Thore settled into a place inside a “new and modern” building where she could focus on a fresh start with her dog Goosie, cat Wandaleezza Rice, and shortly after her arrival, Beaudoin, now her fiancé.

In an exclusive clip shared with Realtor.com® from the Season 14 premiere of Thore’s TLC series, due to premiere on Nov. 10, Thore unveils her personal pad and its rainbow color palette for the first time while giving her friend and co-star Ashley Baynes a tour.

“I wanted it to be my dopamine apartment. You see how it’s colors, you see how it’s tchotchkes, you see how it’s fun?” asks Thore, as she points out the colorful mod decor she curated for the Queen City dwelling.

While Thore reports Beaudoin was immediately welcoming of the apartment’s playful style, she admits it’s been a challenge to accept his additions since moving in together.

“I don't love his stuff—that's the only issue—but luckily, he's cool with the aesthetic. It fits his vibe,” states Thore. 

“It’s been very difficult to have a man in the apartment. ... I made him rent one of the storage units in the apartment for a lot of his stuff. I was basically like, ‘I don't want to see any evidence that you live here,’” she teases. She adds that they have made plans to "move out to a bigger place."

In this edition of Celebrity Sanctuary, Thore debuts the cheerfully decorated Charlotte dwelling where she’s found happiness, including the special living room nook she calls the most mood-boosting spot in her home.

When you walk in the door to this apartment, the view of uptown Charlotte through the windows is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. It is exactly why I picked this apartment.

I feel instantly happy every time I walk in here. This is my favorite place I've ever lived, by miles. I really love what I've done in here.

When I moved to Charlotte, I wanted to feel creative. I was really moving here as a single girly—I didn't think that I was going to be dating anyone—and I wanted to make the space really conducive to feeling stimulated and creative. 

I took a lot of liberties in this apartment that I would not do in my family home or in my Greensboro home where I felt like it has to be more grown-up or something like that. I [felt] the freedom to be like, “That's the cutest thing I've ever seen. I'm gonna get that, whether it fits or not.” 

It's eclectic. It’s very funky. I have locker cabinets. There's a lot of texture and color, and it feels like motion to me. I have a lot of roundness and waviness: my coffee table, another table, my lamp, my candlesticks—I have a lot of shapes that I wouldn't normally have.

I have a lot of fun, whimsical things in this apartment, and I have a lot of color and a lot of art. 

I am obsessed with [Henri] Matisse. I have, like, nine Matisse prints in here, and I even started doing art, which I hadn't done in almost 20 years. That was really exciting for me. I just wanted this space to feel bright and stimulating and exciting.

I have a lot of my own creations in here, things that I've drawn or done. Honestly, the thing I'm most proud of in this apartment is my little basketball gold net chain that I constructed. I got really into basketball when I moved to Charlotte. I started watching the Hornets and I got so into the season.  I don’t consider myself to be very crafty, [but] I ended up making a basketball net with chains and charms and I have that up.

I have a really cool digital picture of my mom that someone on the crew did for me. I have some little things of hers throughout the apartment that make me feel like she's here. I even have some of her handwritten notes on the refrigerator.

Just yesterday I found these glasses [for] $8. They’re like wrought iron. I reorganized ... to make room for the glasses. I'm still constantly picking and refining and moving things, and I'm just such a person that needs to feel so good in my physical space. 

My physical space is such a representation of my mental space, so I can't have things super messy. I can't have things out of place. 

In terms of the art and the shelving, I put a lot of work into making it fit me and my needs perfectly. I'm so particular and I like things done perfectly, measured perfectly, spaced perfectly. 

I have ADHD, so I need little systems exactly how I need them to help me. If there's an extra step, then it's not going to happen. 

I have a Russian handyman named Pavel. He is my lifesaver. Pavel and I have spent many, many hours together figuring out just how to make everything exactly how I wanted it, conducive to how I needed things. So no real renovations, but a lot of modifications.

Where I'm sitting right now is what I would consider [my sanctuary]. It's my armchair in the living room. It’s Ikea, so it's probably not real leather, but it's cognac. My rug is a beautiful bright blue; it’s not a pastel. The paint color is a light gray.

I like to read here. I can see straight out the window at night. The skyline and the view is so beautiful and soothing. I see the moon. I see Venus right outside my window. It gives me a peace that I usually experience in nature. I love this little corner where I look out the window, or I can watch TV, or do whatever. I spend a lot of my time out here just sitting. 

I actually spend a lot of time in the apartment because I don't have a 9-to-5 job that brings me out of the apartment. That is one of the biggest reasons I've put so much into it and wanted to feel so comfortable in it, because I'm here all the time.

I don't often feel the need to even be out because where I live, you can see the skyline, there's life happening outside everywhere. There's always music, people. There's a train that goes by right outside my window. I feel like I can be in the safety and comfort of my home and still feel like I'm in the world, which is something that I would never have in Greensboro. That's something that I really missed. I felt very isolated and that I had to be out of the house to feel connected to the world. In Charlotte, I feel I'm part of it. 

Charlotte really feels good to me. It really feels like home. I don't see myself leaving Charlotte in the next few years at least. I love the neighborhood that I live in. It's the same neighborhood that I lived in pre-COVID and during the beginning of COVID. It's a really wonderful mix of city life, and also, it’s still calm. It’s a really good fit for me and I love it here.  

I really do feel like this specific apartment is such a big part of my experience in Charlotte. I'm very attached to it.