Carnie Wilson seems like such a train-wreck to me. I remember meeting her back in the day--before she had gotten gastric-bypass surgery and was planning it all as her grand come-back. She and her representatives were shopping the future story all over town, and they stopped by the talent agency I was working at.
My impression of her at the time was that she was unpleasant. Did not meet anyone's eyes, looked a bit disdainful (of what, I don't know.)
Since then I've seen her in the D-List spotlight occasionally. Almost always to discuss her weight, her surgeries, etc., and once again, this year she is on the May 8, 2006 cover of People magazine (ironically, the "100 Most Beautiful People" issue). The caption reads, "Carnie Reveals Her Battles WIth Food & Alcohol". Apparantly she gained 70 lbs with her pregnancy, and had to tell us all about it.
My take on the situation is this: ever since Wilson/Phillips went down the tubes (for you young uns--they were a girl group in the 80's that Carnie was a part of) she's been dying to find fame again. No dummy--and as a former fat person--she is very aware of how obsessed our culture is with weight and appearance, so she decided to kill two birds with one stone, lose weight, and get media attention to re-launch her career.
It worked for a while--she was on TV and in the press briefly--then faded to the background because the other things she had to offer just weren't that interesting. So she started the cycle over again. Got fat, got drunk, recovered--and started peddling that story like it was hot.
She's addicted to the attention she gets for getting fat and getting fixed. A dangerous cycle, I'd say, and getting less and less interesting.