A former star of the show 90 Day Fiancé has passed away following complications after contracting COVID-19.
According to People, Jason Hitch, 45, passed away on Dec. 14. His sister Shannon confirmed the news and shared that Hitch was not vaccinated.
“He will be missed by his family and many friends and fans whom he adored,” Shannon said.
Hitch died in an Intensive Care Unit in Florida surrounded by his family. He did not have any preexisting medical conditions, his family said.
Hitch appeared in season 2 of the hit show in 2014 and married Brazilian Cássia Tavares, who traveled to the States to marry him. They separated in 2017 and divorced in 2018 after being charged with domestic battery. Cássia later dropped the charges.
The couple met through Facebook while Tavares was dating one of his friends online. She was 23 when they met, and he was 38. Tavares moved to Spring Hill to live with Hitch and his father.
Here’s a clip from the couple’s episode.
The couple struggled to gel, as Tavares had trouble acclimating to life in hot, sleepy Spring Hill, Florida.
“Cassia getting bored here has been on my mind,” Hitch said on the show. “The next 90 days is gonna be tough.”
The pair started a mail-order snack business called Gifting Fun after their wedding.
“Personalized boxes of gourmet snacks shipped to your door from Jason & Cassia! Seen on TLC’s Hit Show 90 Day Fiance. Send us your picture! We send a gift! Easy!” the company’s Twitter page said.
Hitch said he worked hard to save his marriage.
“I tried everything last year to save whatever we thought we had,” Hitch told Starcasm. “We saw and hung out with the likes of Jim Brickman, Johnny Mathis, Christopher Cross, Bill Engvall, Michael Bolton, and Steve-O. [We] saw concerts like Foreigner, Green Day, Matchbox Twenty, Nickelback, Counting Crows, and Daughtry.”
He said no matter what he did, he just couldn’t stop what was happening between him and his wife.
“Around her birthday, I took her to Melbourne, Florida, for an Army Couples retreat, but nothing worked,” he said. “She flipped a switch, and that was it. There was nothing I could do.”
Hitch was a first lieutenant in the Army Reserves, and his sister said he was a “true and honest shooter, a great officer and a leader to his men.”
TLC, which airs 90 Day Fiancé, also shared a statement about Hitch’s passing.
“We are saddened to hear about the passing of Jason Hitch and send our sincere condolences to his family and friends at this time.”