Fitness influencer Gloria Zamora disclosed that she was terminating her marriage just days before her estranged husband tragically took her life while she was out with another man.
In a podcast episode of “HERizon” on June 16, Zamora, 40, opened up about the difficulties in her second marriage which commenced deteriorating around a year and a half prior. She expressed, “Like a year and a half ago, that’s when my whole second marriage started falling apart because obviously I’m dedicating time into fitness and trying to grow something.”
She revealed, “People started getting insecure and not allowing me to thrive in something that I’m just so passionate about. I felt like that person was just holding me back. I decided to end my second marriage and that’s when a lot of the problems started,” noting that the situation was significantly impacting her mental well-being.
Zamora noted that her job was “very demanding” and “very mentally exhausting,” which took a toll on her. “That’s what I would tell this second marriage, my soon-to-be ex-husband,” she said. “I would tell him, like, ‘My job itself is already exhausting, so you adding more mentally distraughting stuff, I don’t even know how in the hell I take so much.’”
Zamora noted that her “little” children were encouraging her to get a divorce. “[I’m] thankful for my older kids because I feel like if they weren’t in the picture, I think I would still be in that marriage, fully, fully unhappy because I hadn’t been [happy] for a couple years,” she said, noting that she was going through a “not-so-beautiful separation.”
Days after the podcast was released, the Fontana Police Department told Us Weekly that Zamora was shot and killed on Saturday, June 21, while dining outside at a restaurant in Fontana, California, with Hector Garduno.
“There was a male and a female that were estranged; they were going through a divorce, that led to this,” Fontana Police Department’s Officer Steve Reed told ABC 7.
Authorities told Us that the suspect — identified as Zamora’s estranged husband, Tomas Alberto Tamayo Lizarraga — shot the twosome in the parking lot.
“We don’t know how he knew where she was at, but apparently, she had been at the restaurant for approximately an hour prior to the shooting,” Reed told the outlet.
When the incident occurred, several off-duty law enforcement officers — including an off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy — responded to the gunshot sound. Lizarraga was subsequently shot and pronounced dead at the scene, the Fontana Police Department told Us. An investigation is ongoing.
After news broke of the influencer’s death, Zamora’s family paid tribute to her in a GoFundMe, where they also asked for donations to cover funeral and memorial expenses and care for the lives of her children.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic and sudden loss of my mom Gloria, a loving mother, sister, daughter and friend,” the statement read. “My mom was senselessly taken from us, she was murdered by my step dad Tomas, in an act of unimaginable violence.”
The statement continued, “She leaves behind seven beautiful children, ages 8 to 24, who are now facing a future without our mother’s warmth, guidance and unconditional love. My mom was more than just a mother — she was a light in her community. She uplifted and inspired countless women, reminding them of their worth, their strength and their potential. She always said, ‘Women can do anything they set their minds to,’ and she lived those words every day. Her courage, kindness and determination touched the lives of everyone who knew her.”
