Like so many trends, the Ozempic craze really picked up steam due to its popularity among celebrities. For a couple years now, we've watched some of our favorite stars drop staggering amounts of weight—and although many deny even touching the medication, other stars have shared both positive and negative experiences. Sharon Osbourne has been open about her struggles while taking Ozempic, as well as how it continues to affect her since she stopped.
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Osbourne, 71, first started taking Ozempic—which is approved for type 2 diabetes but often prescribed off-label for weight loss—in Dec. 2022.
"Everybody was doing it [taking Ozempic] and I’m like, ‘Well I’ll have some!’ And you lose weight. It does what it says on the syringe," she said in a March 19 interview with U.K. magazine Woman.
The star dropped roughly 42 pounds before she stopped taking Ozempic.
But while studies show that people typically gain weight back when they discontinue weight-loss drugs, Osbourne is having a very different experience. Even after several months of being off the drug, the number on the scale hasn't really changed.
When asked why she hadn't put weight back on since stopping the drug, Osbourne said, "I don't know. The doctors can't figure it out."
However, she believes age might have something to do with it.
"I think it's just because I'm getting older and as you get older you lose weight anyway and shrink and shrivel off," she told Woman.
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Osbourne's struggle to regain weight has been going on for some time now. In Nov. 2023, she told the Daily Mail that she'd been off Ozempic "for a while" and discontinued use because she "couldn't stop losing weight."
“I’ve lost 42 pounds and I can’t afford to lose any more," Osbourne told the Daily Mail last November. "I'm too gaunt and I can't put any weight on. I want to, because I feel I'm too skinny. I'm under 100lb and I don't want to be. Be careful what you wish for."
Her weight loss was also concerning for her rockstar husband, Ozzy Osbourne, she said during a Nov. 2023 appearance on Good Morning Britain, per Bracknell News.
"He doesn’t like it," Osbourne said. "And he’s scared. He thinks that something’s going to happen to me. [He thinks] 'This is it. There’s nothing’s perfect. If you’ve got skinny, then something else is gonna happen.'"
RELATED: Sunny Hostin Reveals the Side Effect That Made Her Quit Ozempic.
Still, Osbourne has been open about her struggles with her weight, which is why she tried Ozempic in the first place. In her latest interview with Woman, she went so far as to concede that she's "always had a weight problem," and that she maintains a "crazy" relationship with food.
"I’m upset, I eat, I’m happy, I eat," she revealed.
Even after she had gastric sleeve surgery, Osbourne told Woman that she found ways "to eat around it," going through two pints of ice cream daily.
And while she's no stranger to cosmetic surgery and weight-loss procedures—admitting that she's done "everything"—Osbourne has a word of caution about prescribing drugs like Ozempic.
"My warning is don’t give it to teenagers, it’s just too easy," she told the Daily Mail last year. "You can lose so much weight and it’s easy to become addicted to that, which is very dangerous."
Best Life offers the most up-to-date information from top experts, new research, and health agencies, but our content is not meant to be a substitute for professional guidance. When it comes to the medication you're taking or any other health questions you have, always consult your healthcare provider directly.