'Next Great Baker' Contestant Sgt. Wesley Durden Committed Suicide
Sergeant Wesley Durden, 28, a contestant on TLC’s baking competition "Next Great Baker," committed suicide after production wrapped in October, according to the Jacksonville Daily News. However, TLC did not mention Durden's death until after his elimination from "Next Great Baker" on Monday night's episode.
The network delivered the news in a memorial note after the episode. TLC then released this statement: “TLC extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Sgt. Wesley Durden, who died Oct. 24. He will be warmly remembered by the cast and crew of Next Great Baker.”
Durden was a Iraq War veteran who had been deployed to Iraq twice. According to the Jacksonville Daily News, Durden was a cook with the 82nd Airborne. He is survived by his wife, his seven-year-old son and his two-year-old daughter.