American actor and single dad of two Tom Arnold suffered a mini-stroke while bathing his children.
After surviving the near fatality, he consciously decided to change his life to ensure he sticks around for his kids as long as possible.
Arnold is now 64, and his ten and seven-year-olds help him recover after his mini-stroke.
Tom Arnold was born to Linda and Jack Arnold in 1959 in Ottumwa, Iowa. However, after his parents divorced, he was primarily raised by his father. The “Big Bully” actor is known worldwide for his incredible comedic chops and talents, and he got his start in stand-up comedy in 1983, performing at the University of Iowa’s open mic night.
While Arnold honed his craft, his comedic career had seen many highs and lows. Still, in 1988, he won first place after entering the Minneapolis Comedy Competition, prompting his move to Los Angeles to pursue a stand-up comedy career.
After his move to L.A., Arnold’s career began to take flight, as the same year he moved (1988), he got hired as one of the staff writers for Roseanne Barr’s hit TV show “Roseanne.” He had then started to appear as a series regular, playing the character of Arnie Thomas before he and Barr married in 1990.
The duo’s marriage was undoubtedly colorful, to say the least, and their occasional outlandish behavior attracted the media’s attention considerably. Conditions started to worsen and ultimately deteriorated in 1994 when the couple went through a very public and tumultuous divorce.
Following his divorce from Barr, Arnold went on to marry two other women before marrying his last wife, Ashley Groussman. Before divorcing in 2020, they had two children – Jax and Quinn Arnold.
Having recently stepped out at a red carpet event, Arnold sported an immediately noticeably new physique. The actor shared that he lost a total of 80 pounds after he had a mini-stroke, two years after having gone through another health scare – the failure of a massive organ. When it came down to what prompted his decision to change his lifestyle for the better, Arnold only had two sources of inspiration in mind – his children:
“Oh, I changed [my lifestyle] big [time]. I [have] kids – my kids Jax and Quinn are here [and] they’re 10 and 7. And I realized I better get in shape. I better do it.”
As mentioned, Arnold married Groussman and had two children, whom he had a little later in life. The former married couple had the children through IVF (In Vitro Fertilization), and he was 54 years old when he had his firstborn son, Jax, and 57 when he had his daughter, Quinn.
As someone who is exceptionally aware of the importance of taking the time and enjoying precious moments, Arnold does not skip a beat when it comes to spending quality time with his children.
Arnold is ever the loving and devoted father to his children, and his health scare made him instantly recognize how he had to change for the better. He credits fatherhood, getting older, and going through significant changes to leading a healthier lifestyle:
“I think as you get older, you’ve gotten through some stuff. And it was a [tremendous] wake-up call for me [and] knock on wood. I turn 65 next year, so I’ll get Social Security [and] I stop paying alimony the day I turn 65, [so], a lot of great things about getting older.”
The terrifying health scare occurred one day in January 2022. Arnold was busy engaging in daddy daycare duties and bathing his kids when the unthinkable happened. He detailed precisely how the incident took place:
“The kids, with bath time, as you know, for kids, it’s hard to get them in the bathtub, [and] it’s even harder to get them out. So, I do a thing – I walk in the bathroom, turn the to the bathroom door, [and] I count to 10, and whoever gets out first wins…When I turned back around, my eye – it was like a curtain came out of my right eye [and I just] thought, ‘Well, maybe I hit myself [in] the eyeball when I was counting.”
He then goes on to explain that while putting the kids to bed, half of his vision returned, which made him think that everything was ok. The following day, instead of flying down to Alaska to film a pilot for a production, Arnold decided to go to the eye doctor to make sure everything was fine:
“I almost flew to Alaska the next day to [film] a pilot, but I thought, ‘I’m gonna stop by the eye doctor on the way to the airport, and I did, and you know, it’s something nobody wants to hear. But he comes back…and he said, ‘You had a stroke,’ [and] I’m like, ‘Oh, no, you gotta be kidding me,’ because you always think, ‘What will that [mean]?’ So, you have to go to UCLA for 24 hours for stroke protocol.”
As Arnold counted his blessings, he underwent a complete and extensive check-up while remaining at the medical facility. He was incredibly grateful to learn that on a scale of 1 to 10, his mini-stroke sat at level 1.
Prior to making a concerted effort to change his lifestyle to a healthier one and losing 80 pounds, Arnold weighed a whopping 285 pounds. According to the star, he could feel the physical constraints and effects that his excessive weight presented for him. He would recognize these challenges specifically when he tried to be active with his children, which he immediately realized would start affecting his ability to be a good father.
The actor also credits his sobriety as another way that he maintained a healthier lifestyle. He celebrated five years of being sober and talked about how things may have taken a turn for the worst had he not been already living a life of sobriety at the time of his health scare:
“I got sober years ago, which you have to do, and then to have the health stuff after that – it would’ve only been worse if I had not been clean and sober. Everything would have been worse. It would have been worse for my kids [and] my health stuff.”
As much of the story already details, the ultimate catalyst that initiated Arnold’s journey to improve his health is his children. The bond he shares with and the love he has for his kids is a recurring, finite clause for Arnold’s life to have changed for the better because of his need and desire to be there for them. He is always expressive of his gratitude for being a father:
“For me, being a single dad [in his sixties], with a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old, you really can’t be selfish. I have four ex-wives [and] people are like, ‘Did you marry too many times?’ Probably, but that’s what it took to get here [and] this is where I’ve always wanted to be in my life… every day with these kids is exciting [and] I’m very grateful.”
As someone who is exceptionally aware of the importance of taking the time and enjoying precious moments, Arnold does not skip a beat when it comes to spending quality time with his children. After having gone through all he has, he knows that tomorrow is never promised:
“It’s every day with my kids. Every day you wake up, and…[you] think, ‘This is not unlimited.’ Like, I am 64, my kids are very young [and] so each day, you got to try to make that your best day with those kids.”
If ‘Dad goals’ was the category of a parenting competition, Arnold would win first prize. For him, creating meaningful memories with his kids is less about being fussed over materialistic entities and instead focusing on the experiences:
“The memories, [and] the stuff we do together – I’m very [fortunate]. I’m lucky to be a father. I’m lucky to be alive.”
When it comes to being one of the best father’s out there, Arnold can’t take all the credit for being the rad dad he is, and most of what he has learned as a single father stems from his own dad. His father had raised him and his siblings as a single parent as well, and on Father’s Day, Arnold paid tribute to his pops for teaching him all he knows today:
“Happy Father’s Day. Jack Arnold was a 22-year-old dad raising 4-year-old Tommy, Lori, 3, and Scotty, 18 months. He passed three years ago, but I learn lessons about life and fatherhood from my father every day.”
Arnold is one of the most doting and loving fathers in Hollywood. When he is not too busy attending his daughter’s dance recitals or helping his children with their entrepreneurship ingenuity in the form of lemonade stands and things alike, his acting career still keeps him busy.