90 Day Fiancé star David Murphey died at the age of 66 following years of health issues.
David Murphey’s family announced his passing on December 18 through his Instagram account. He passed away in his Las Vegas home on December 11, 2024, after struggling with health issues for several years. He was 66 years old.
The family described Murphey as a veteran, small business owner, and software engineer. They mentioned his recent retirement from the Clark County Treasurer’s office and his past work with H&R Block and IGT.
Recognized for his appearance on the reality show 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, Murphey had a chance to engage with audiences worldwide and share his adventures with his numerous Instagram followers. His family, friends, and fans will deeply feel his absence. He is survived by his two sisters and his cat, Gamera. The family has requested privacy during this emotional period.
The statement also paid tribute to Murphey’s love of cats and encouraged his followers to make a donation to The Animal Foundation in his name.
“As many knew, David had a fierce love for cats,” they wrote. “He always made an effort to adopt cats and give them a good loving home. David’s choice for adopting was from The Animal Foundation in Las Vegas. For friends and fans who want to help, we ask that you honor his memory by making a donation to The Animal Foundation in his name.”
Murphey got candid about his health battles during an Instagram live in March 2023. “I’ve been ill, basically,” he summed up at the time.
While laughing about a smoke detector that was heard chirping in the background of the video, Murphey explained that he hadn’t been in his home much. “I’ve been in and out of the hospital for the last, almost three months,” he said.
“It’s more of the same problems that I had back in November when I went in[to] the hospital and they don’t know what it is,” he said. “My liver is not working right. I think right now I’m finally getting a little bit of color back. Man, did I turn bright yellow, it was crazy. … I’ve been kind of waiting for that to go away.”
Murphey explained that his gall bladder “has to come out,” but “they don’t want to do that until they get the liver working.” He added, “I’ve had all these tests and they just can’t figure it out yet.”
Murphey claimed that the doctors thought he had “acute Hepatitis” but he didn’t have the illness at the time. He added that he has “something going on” with his pancreas and kidneys and he had two blood clots in his lungs. “They don’t know if it’s cancer yet,” he said.
Murphey was cast on season 4 of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, where he met his girlfriend Lana. The pair had been talking online for seven years after meeting on the dating app Anastasia Date. Murphey proposed to Lana in 2019 but the pair called it quits.