'The Biggest Loser' veteran Daniel Wright dies at 30
Daniel Wright, who was a former contestant on The Biggest Loser, died Sunday morning after fighting an almost two-year battle with leukemia, according to various other veterans of the show. Wright was 30.
“I am so so heartbroken to hear about Daniel Wright this morning,” Courtney Crozier Respess wrote on Facebook Sunday. “He has fought SO HARD during his battle with cancer & more. This man is one of the kindest people I have ever met & is a true difference maker in this world! His faith has never faded, even in the darkest of times. I am honored to have known him!!!”
According to Wright’s GoFundMe page, set up to help with medical costs, he was diagnosed with leukemia on Oct. 16, 2017. An update shared four months ago from Wright’s sister, Deanna Thomas, noted, “Daniel was back at work while going through the beginning of 2 years of maintenance chemo.”
Two days before Wright passed, his wife, Rebecca — who was also a contestant on The Biggest Loser — gave an update on his condition on Facebook, noting he was undergoing treatment after coughing up blood.
“Please keep him & his beautiful, amazing, and beyond strong wife Rebecca Wright in your prayers today as he is being called to heaven,” Respess wrote. “Rebecca will need all of us to lift her up now & for the months & years to come.”
Other tributes came in from The Biggest Loser veterans Joe Mitchell (season 12) and Danny Cahill (season 8).
“He was a hero and a man of faith who inspired so many, including me, during his short time on this earth,” Cahill wrote on Facebook. “He and his lovely bride showed the whole world what true love, faith and commitment are all about and he will be truly missed.”
Sharing a story of first meeting Wright, Cahill wrote in a similar tribute post, “Daniel Wright and I met for the first time in May of 2009 on the beach in Malibu. 15 of us went to the beach that morning to begin our journey on season 8 of The Biggest Loser. Our 16th contestant was driven up to the starting position of that first 1-mile race (which he won) and out popped Daniel. ‘Hey guys!!!’ He yelled as he jogged over to us. Little did I know the effect this man would have on my life.
“As the picture shows,” he continued, “he never missed a chance to double back and encourage every soul in the fight of their lives to keep going, and ensure us we would make it. He gave me so many gifts, not only there, but in years after. In week 6 when we went home on the way to the airport, he described a girl he was in love with. I remember him asking, ‘Danny, what do I do if she doesn’t know I love her?’ And I said ‘Tell her. The worst that will happen is a no, but never knowing will be worse than a no.’ I had no idea he was talking about Rebecca Wright! I was honored to be in his and and Rebecca’s wedding a few years later, which our buddy Sean Algaier [another season 8 contestant] officiated.”
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