Fox News personality and comedian Kat Timpf is known for her ability to poke fun at herself through all of life’s ups and downs, and let’s just say, she’s had more than her fair share of heartbreak. Between the loss of her mother to being physically accosted by a hater, as well as facing shock health woes during what should have been a happy time in her life, the sad truth is Timpf has been through a lot over the years.
We’ll start with the death of Timpf’s mom. In February 2015, she shared on X (then known as Twitter) that her mother had died just weeks after being diagnosed with amyloidosis. In the time since, she’s used her platform to spread awareness of the disease so others can catch it sooner. She’s also shared details about how fast everything took a turn for the worse. Speaking on an episode of “The Sage Steele Show,” Timpf recollected that her mom was about to be discharged when she succumbed to the condition. Though Timpf been 25 at the time, the experience forced her to grow up almost immediately. “I was in a position where I was there with my dad being very much a fellow adult in the situation … that definitely had an impact on me,” she said.
Heartbreakingly, the Fox personality also told Steele that there had been another big realization a decade later. Speaking about wanting to start a family with her husband, Timpf mused, “It’s so weird to be thinking about having kids and being a mom when I don’t remember what it’s like to have one anymore.” Of course, Timpf has since welcomed her own child — but more on that later.
Kat Timpf has been criticized for her coping mechanisms
As if losing her mother wasn’t difficult enough in itself, Kat Timpf has also opened up about the backlash she’s received for her coping mechanism. Of course, that’s been humor — and at times, it has gotten a little dark. However, given that Timpf is the author of “You Can’t Joke About That: Why Everything is Funny, Nothing is Sacred, and We’re All in this Together,” it was very on-brand.
Of course, Timpf didn’t jump right into joking about her mom’s death. On “The Sage Steele Show,” she revealed that for her first Mother’s Day without a mom, she’d taken a trip and stayed off social media. However, it wasn’t quite as raw the following year, and rather than be miserable at the sight of everyone else’s day spent celebrating, she took to social media to poke fun at her situation. The result? An Instagram post with the caption, “My mom’s dead gonna do some laundry.” As should probably have been expected, a lot of people were shocked. However, Timpf has spoken at length about why she personally has no regrets.
While it would be totally inappropriate for Timpf to make light of anyone else’s loved ones passing, in an episode of “The Sage Steele Show,” she explained that for her and her own mom, it only made sense. “She would have thought that was funny,” she reasoned. Timpf also pointed out, “I think it’s so messed up that people think they’re being compassionate … by taking away or talking s*** on someone’s coping mechanism, you’re actually the jerk here.” It’s a valid perspective for sure, and one she’s doubled down on on the “Dead Talks Podcast.” Our take? If it works for Timpf, power to her.
She had a scary altercation with a hater
Next up, that altercation. In 2017, Timpf shared on X that an unknown man had walked right up to her just moments before she was set to speak at an event and “[dumped] an entire bottle of water on me.” True to form, Timpf poked fun at the situation in a follow-up post. “The very least he could have done was express what it was specifically that he had an issue with,” she wrote. However, in an interview with The Wrap, she opened up about how frightening it had been. “I didn’t know if he was about to punch me in my face,” she said. “He was a huge, huge guy,” she added. Timpf also shared that she was grateful it had just been water, acknowledging that it could have been far worse.
Another heartbreaking detail? Timpf pointed out that even though she’d managed to clean herself up, she hadn’t been able to do so in time to go on stage. “That’s really unfortunate and I hate that [the attacker] kind of won,” she said. Even so, she used the interview as an opportunity to call him out. “Do you have any friends … that would tell you that’s not how adults behave? How sad and pathetic is your life that this is what you need to do with your time?” she asked.
Sadly, even though Timpf filed a report with the police and even shared that she had security footage, it doesn’t seem as though the random celeb attacker was ever found. Even so, news outlets across the political spectrum came to her defense and criticized the attacker’s actions. It’s also worth noting that Timpf hasn’t changed her stances on anything since, so the attacker didn’t win after all.
Kat Timpf had a medical emergency in 2020
Several years after Kat Timpf’s water attack, she faced another terrifying situation. This time, though, it was a perforated colon.
In an appearance on “Dr. Drew After Dark,” Timpf recounted having unbearable stomach pains a few weeks after a colonoscopy in 2020. Despite her husband initially questioning if that was necessary, it turned out she had indeed been experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency. “I was right. I was dying … I had a bowel perforation,” she explained. She was booked in for an emergency ileostomy, and as she recalled on “The Sage Steele Show,” even she hadn’t realized just how dire the situation was. “I came so close to dying, I didn’t realize ’til after I got out of surgery,” she told Steele.
Luckily, Timpf did get the surgery she needed, and as with everything, she managed to find the humor in the situation. In fact, in addition to dedicating a chapter of her book to it (aptly titled “S***bag”), she’s joked about it on multiple podcasts. On “Dr. Drew After Dark,” she pointed out, “I had to laugh about it, I had to be able to joke about it.” Some of those jokes, she added, included cracks that she’d be able to wear a thong bikini in public for the rest of her life and claim it as ileostomy awareness. “All this helped me get through the stuff,” she reiterated. Sounds like a fun way to go through life. Having said that, we shan’t repeat some of the gorier details here.
The responses to Kat Timpf’s pregnancy were … weird
Fast forward several more years, and Kat Timpf and her husband were expecting their first child. Many likely believed it was “about time.” After all, in a September 2024 interview with the Los Angeles Times, she pointed out that she’d been getting a ton of hate for years over not having kids yet. “I was getting these hate comments like, ‘You don’t understand anything about the world because you don’t have any kids. Your eggs are scrambled and drying up, and you’ll regret this soon. You’re so selfish,'” she recounted — and yikes. However, she admitted to being shocked that when she did announce her pregnancy, she was shamed for having kids by the same haters. “Now people are saying, ‘Can you just shut up about being pregnant already?'” she said.
Timpf added that even with the (note to haters: ridiculous) criticism, she wasn’t about to change anything. “Life can be so monotonous and there are so few happy things that inspire a sense of genuine wonderment and amazement about life and being alive. I’ve been so dead inside that sometimes I’m just like, let me have this!”
In an op-ed for Fox News, Timpf also explained that when she did speak about her pregnancy, a lot of the time it came down to wanting to relate to others. “My point in writing all of this is not that I think I’m some kind of unique victim. It’s the opposite! I feel a sense of unity and solidarity with all the women who have gone through this,” she wrote. As if she needed to offer an explanation!
Kat Timpf was diagnosed with cancer the day she gave birth
Heartbreakingly, when Kat Timpf eventually gave birth to her son, a day that should have been nothing but joyful was full of mixed emotions. Though she didn’t share a ton of detail about her actual childbirth story, she revealed in a statement posted to her Instagram that she was diagnosed with breast cancer the very same day.
As with all the hardships she’s faced over the years, Timpf saw the opportunity to crack jokes. “Now, before you worry, my doctor says it’s stage 0 and is confident that it almost certainly hasn’t spread. Or, as I’ve explained to the few people I’ve managed to tell about it so far: Don’t freak out. It’s just, like, a little bit of cancer,” she wrote in her statement. Timpf also shared that she’d be undergoing a double mastectomy.
Clearly committed to keeping her friends, family, and fans in the loop throughout her healing journey, a few weeks after her announcement, Timpf took to Instagram to share a snap of herself outside the cancer center she was being treated at — and as always, kept things light. “Once I recover from childbirth, my mole removal scars heal, I get a double mastectomy, get rid of my cancer, have breast reconstruction surgery & am physically capable of getting back in the gym it’s OVER FOR U B***HEZ,” she wrote. We’re wishing Timpf everything of the best. They do say laughter is the best medicine, and if that’s the case, there’s no question she has a never-ending supply.
