Sam Asghari made headlines this week after divorcing Britney Spears after just 14 months of marriage — but his life before meeting the star was drastically different.
The Iranian immigrant moved to the US with his father in 2006 when he was 12 years old, leaving behind his mother and three sisters.
He started out as a promising college football player, but after being cut from the team, he was forced to make a drastic change of course.
Sam instead enrolled to study criminal justice, but was forced to take on three jobs to make a living and ended up relying on junk food to get through the long days.
Sam Asghari made headlines this week after divorcing Britney Spears after just 14 months of marriage – but his life before meeting the star was drastically different (pictured on their wedding day in June 2022)
He eventually tipped the scales at 290 pounds and began to suffer from depression.
However, Sam decided to turn his life around and had lost more than 100 pounds within six months thanks to grueling exercise and diet.
The now 29-year-old also revamped his smile with a set of dazzling implants — and his Hollywood glow opened up a slew of acting and modeling gigs that eventually led him to meet Britney.
Here, FEMAIL takes a closer look at Sam’s incredible transformation.
Sam weighed 290 pounds and struggled with depression – but decided to turn his life around with a strict diet and exercise regimen
After moving to America, Sam showed great promise as a professional football player, but was cut from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln summer football program before his freshman year.
He was forced to move back to LA and decided to study criminal justice instead.
But to finance his education and pay the bills, by the age of 19 he had three jobs: as a Best Buy clerk, Gold’s Gym sales representative, and nightclub bouncer.
Sam revealed that as a result, he only got four to five hours of sleep a night and started “stressing” unhealthy foods to get through the long days.
Sam, who is six feet tall, said working out wasn’t a priority anymore and he ended up tipping the scales at 290 pounds (left) before turning his life around (right)
Spoken before Men’s healthhe said, “I ate Doritos for breakfast, fast food, sugar, candy, no protein, high carbs, and drank sugary soda.
My diet was terribly bad. The stress and the fear of going nowhere (in life) together gave me my depression.”
Sam, who is six feet tall, said exercising was no longer a priority and eventually tipped the scales to 290 pounds.
But in 2013, he decided to turn his life around, spurred on by a desire to ‘start over’.
He started by enrolling in Gold’s Smart Nutrition course to understand how best to fuel his body before further developing his fitness knowledge through YouTube videos.
Sam got incredibly strict with his exercise and diet routines, even restricting his food budget to make sure he couldn’t splurge on treats.
He told the publication, “I allowed myself a $50 shopping budget every week at the grocery store and because of that low budget, I couldn’t buy anything else that would break[my diet].
‘I didn’t eat for pleasure. My food is now for nourishment and survival.”
Then: In an earlier conversation with Men’s Health, he said, “My nutrition was extremely terrible. The stress and the fear of going nowhere (in life) together gave me my depression’
Now: The fitness guru also boasted that he had only three percent body fat — with an average of 28 percent for an American man
In 2016, he landed a role in Britney’s Slumber Party (pictured) clip – and their romance blossomed as his on-screen career went from strength to strength as well.
His meal plan consisted of 25 percent protein, 15 percent vegetables and 25 percent complex carbohydrates — found in foods such as peas, beans and whole grains.
Sam also threw himself into a new role as a personal trainer and quickly became obsessed with losing weight.
He ate about 1,500 calories a day while burning up to 4,000 calories in the gym—and within six months, he’d lost a whopping 100 pounds.
The fitness guru also boasted that he had only three percent body fat — with an average of 28 percent for an American man.
And his ripped physique opened the doors to a slew of new opportunities.
Sam was encouraged by his sister to try modeling, which turned into acting, after which he cast a series of music videos, including Fifth Harmony’s Work From Home.
In 2016, he landed a role in Britney’s Slumber Party clip – and their romance blossomed from there while his on-screen career went from strength to strength as well.
Sam spent thousands of dollars renewing his smile with implants and crowns the year he met Britney
It’s no secret that junk food can be harmful to oral health Dentistry today rather claiming, ‘The main reason why fast food is so bad for oral health is the added salt and sugar found in it.
“When your patients eat these foods, dirt is more likely to stick to their teeth. This food debris allows acids to build up along the surface of their teeth.
“Ultimately that causes tooth decay and cavities.”
And it seems that the same thing happened to Sam – before undergoing a stunning overhaul.
In November 2016, Sam appeared on the Instagram feed of dentist Dr. Kam Kamangar from LA, who shared shocking before and after snaps
The dentist, who regularly shared posts with Sam in the months that followed, revealed that the star had implants and zirconia crowns
In November 2016, the same month the Slumber Party music video was released, he appeared on the Instagram feed of LA dentist Dr. Kam Kamangar.
The medical professional shared shocking before and after photos of the work he did on the star’s teeth.
Sam’s smile showed serious signs of decay and irregular spacing before undergoing “full mouth restorations.”
The dentist, who regularly shared posts with Sam in the months that followed, revealed that the star had implants — which can cost up to $5,800 per tooth — and zirconia crowns — up to $2,500.