Ryan DeNino— who starred on the second season of ‘Married at First Sight’ has died. He was only 40 years old.
TMZ broke the news on Friday that the former reality TV died “suddenly” in New Jersey this week, but the family has not revealed his cause of death.
Ryan’s sister Melissa posted a tribute to him on Facebook on August 11.
“Ryan was so damn funny and witty. He was fiercely loyal to those he loved,” she wrote. “He had a huge heart, always. I can’t explain what it’s like to lose a sibling. Someone who’s been there from the beginning and shares the same memories. No matter what we were going through, I loved him immensely. Life as I know it will never be the same.”
Ryan’s co-star on that season, Ryan Ranellone, shared a post to Facebook about Ryan’s death writing, “Crazy I can’t believe it. Really f**ken sad.”
As longtime ‘MAFS’ fans will remember, Ryan married Jessica Castro on the show back in 2014, but their union was far from happy. The couple decided to split on Decision Day and, the week that episode aired, Jessica filed for a protective order against Ryan, claiming he threatened her family. (He was also allegedly caught on a hot mic threatening Jessica while taping the reunion special for the show.)
Jessica sued Ryan for harassment, stalking and menacing, and attempted to get the unedited footage from her season from A&E (the network that was airing the show at the time) to use in court.
The couple obviously went on to divorce.
Still, Jessica was asked to comment on the passing of her ex-husband.
“I have not had contact with Ryan in years so I have/had no idea what his life entailed. However, I do send my sincerest condolences to his family during this very difficult time,” Jessica told Page Six on Friday. “I cannot imagine what they are going through. May he rest peacefully.”
Jessica made another post to Instagram Stories on Saturday, showing her response to a person who criticized her for not speaking out about Ryan’s death.
“Odd that you wouldn’t mention Ryan’s death at all,” the person wrote to Jessica. “Even if you didn’t work out he’s still a human that you had interactions with. I’ll bet they weren’t all bad.”
Jessica confirmed that she found out about Ryan’s death prior to the news breaking publicly but stated that it was “never my place to say anything.”
“I’m giving his family the privacy and respect that they deserve,” she wrote.
After the ‘MAFS’ debacle, Ryan retreated from public life and didn’t go on any more reality TV shows. It does not appear that he ever married again.
(Photos: A&E; Instagram)
