History-Making Olympic Skater Debi Thomas Now Broke and Jobless
The first African-American athlete to medal at any winter Olympics opens up.
— -- Former Olympian Debi Thomas has opened up about hitting rock bottom, admitting she is broke, jobless and that her life off the ice is “totally unmanageable.”
"Suddenly, you're like, 'I can't even pay my phone bill, I can't even pay this.'" Thomas said on "Good Morning America."
The one-time U.S. and world championship figure skater graced the cover of Time magazine and was the first African-American athlete to win a medal at any winter Olympics. She won a bronze medal in 1988.
"The more somebody tried to tell me I couldn't do it, the more I just wanted to prove that I could," Thomas said.
Now, Thomas is unemployed and living with fiance Jamie Looney in a one-bed, bug-infested trailer, pinning her financial woes on an expensive divorce from her second husband and costly child support.
"People don't understand; anybody could suddenly lose you know, their money," she said. "Anybody can."
The 48-year-old is sharing her story on the OWN Network's “Iyanla: Fix My Life,” opening up about her money troubles and her fiance's struggle to control his alcohol use and anger issues.
Now, in her interview with ABC News, Thomas said she and Looney's relationship has only gotten stronger since speaking with Iyanla Vanzant 10 months ago.
"We figured it out," Thomas said. "Do we still push each others' buttons sometimes? Yes.”
They are now reaching for help through a crowd-sourcing campaign, chronicling their troubles in hopes that others avoid a similar fate.