Last week, 90 Day Fiance alum Jason Hitch died after a battle with COVID-19. He was only 45.
Friends, family, and fellow 90 Day Fiance cast members have mourned Jason.
The account of one fellow alum of the franchise posted something very different -- shameless clickbait seen as exploiting Jason's death.
Nicole Nafziger is (once again) offering a heartfelt apology and an explanation.
Nicole Nafziger's love story with Azan Tefou (real name Hassan M'Raouni) aired more recently than Jason's story.
He appeared on the second season of the show, just as it was first begging to make headlines and draw attention.
After all, Jason shared a screen with Danielle Mullins and Mohamed Jbali and their messy marriage and split.
As far as we can tell, Nicole does not know Jason or his ex, Cassia Tavares, in any way.
She did, however, post a public message following his death.
At least, her Instagram account did ... and it was not well-received.
A clickbait link was posted on Nicole's account, one that was misleading and -- many followers felt -- ghoulish.
As a result, Nicole has once again found herself having to apologize for misleading her followers.
That said, it was not Nicole's intention, and her explanation makes a lot of sense if you are familiar with how some management companies work.
Nicole apologized and expressed her regret that this happened at all.
She also directed her apology, not just to her misled followers, but to Cassia and to Jason's family.
As for the explanation, it's simple: Nicole didn't post the link.
A management company logs into her Instagram in order to post links to articles, some more relevant than others.
Most links are pretty innocuous, and only a few cause controversy and distress like this.
Fans and bloggers alike have acknowledged that this is how things work, and that Nicole is not malicious.
At the time of his December 14 death, Jason had been in the UCU of a Florida hospital.
He was unvaccinated and had no known preexisting conditions.
“He will be missed by his family and many friends and fans whom he adored,” his sister Shannon stated.
Jason is mourned not only by family and friends, but by fans -- and by bloggers.
John Jates, Frauded, and others acknowledged that Jason had been among the first franchise stars to be open to interviews on social media.
This helped them to launch their reputations as bloggers. Jason also regularly spoke with fans.
Meanwhile, his ex-wife, Cassia Tavares, learned the news the same way that the rest of us did.
She and Jason had divorced in 2018.
Their marriage had included Jason being arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and one previous filing for divorce.
“It’s always sad when someone you spent part of your life with stops breathing,” Cassia reflected on social media.
She went on: “I guess one could never be prepared for that. I wasn’t today.”
Cassia revealed that she had gotten the news on social media, at first assuming that fans were joking before she learned of Jason's death.
In February of 2021, Cassia announced that she had remarried.
Originally Brazillian, her new wedding took place in an Italian courthouse.
No one expected for Jason to pass away so abruptly -- least of all Jason himself. Our thoughts remain with his family and loved ones at this time.