[3] Yager stated that she had developed an eating disorder as a child in response to being sexually abused by a "close family member",[2] although in later interviews, she indicated that there were other contributing factors to her obesity.

Yager suffered from many other obesity-related health problems as well, including breathing difficulty, a dangerously high blood sugar level, and stress on her heart and other organs.

A short time before her death, Yager's latest boyfriend, Larry Maxwell, who was characterized by her family as being "an opportunist who courted media attention for money-making possibilities",[3] married her friend, Felicia White.

[4] Maxwell had said that the only donation in Yager's name he ever received was for $20,[1] although numerous talk shows, newspapers, radio stations, and other national and international media are reported to have offered her cash and other gifts in exchange for interviews, pictures, etc.

[3] Dietary educator Richard Simmons was quoted as saying that he was "angry that Yager's story was actively peddled to tabloid and television media by Maxwell and others".