90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days star David Murphey has passed away at age 66 following an undisclosed health crisis.
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RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
"FROM THE FAMILY OF DAVID JAMES MURPHEY," the statement began.
"We are deeply saddened to announce that David Murphey, of Las Vegas, Nevada, passed away at home on December 11, 2024 after experiencing health issues over the last several years. He was 66 years old."
David's family shared that he was a veteran, small business owner, and software engineer.
"He had recently retired from the Clark County Treasurer's office in Nevada, having also worked for H&R Block and IGT," the statement read.
"He was also well known for his time as a cast member on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days. His time on the show allowed him to connect with viewers, see the world, and share his experiences with his thousands of followers on Instagram."
David had starred on Season 4 of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days when he was 60-years-old. At the time of filming, his love interest was a 27-year-old blonde Ukrainian woman named Lana.
David disclosed on the show's Tell-All in 2020 that Lana had ended their relationship shortly before the reunion taped.
David's family continued in their Instagram statement, "He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and fans. David has survived by his two sisters and his cat Gamera. The family asked for privacy during this difficult time."
David's loved ones added how the 90 Day Fiance alum had "a fierce love for cats" and he "always made an effort to adopt cats and give them a good loving home."
Since David had adopted from The Animal Foundation in Las Vegas before, a link to the foundation was provided in case anyone would like to make a donation in David's memory.
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOWRELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE: BEFORE THE 90 DAYS' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
David went live on Instagram and opened up about his health issues in March.
David captioned his post, "The latest," and he shared in the video at the time, "I've been ill, basically... I've been in and out of the hospital for the last, almost three months."
David was apparently struggling with a mystery illness or disease.
"It's more of the same problems that I had back in November [2023] when I went [into] the hospital, and they don't know what it is," David explained.
"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."
David shared how his gall bladder needed to "come out," and he elaborated, "But they don't want to do that until they get the liver working. I've had all these tests and they just can't figure it out yet."
David said he had a procedure scheduled.
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David, who said he had to cancel a trip to Europe -- which had been planned with another woman who's not Lana -- said he could've had pancreatic cancer but doctors just didn't know yet.
On 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days' fourth season, David said he had met Lana on an expensive foreign dating website seven years prior to filming.
David claimed Lana had "aggressively" pursued him at first and he spent over $100,000 on using the website over many years to communicate with Lana since she spoke only a few words of English.
David flew to Ukraine to meet Lana four times, but he was stood up every single time.
"There is no excuse for this one," David told the cameras on his fourth trip, when he brought an engagement ring with him. "The others had excuses, and logical excuses -- she had a medical operation and one time her brother died."
David searched for Lana in her alleged hometown of Pavlohrad, but after no one seemed to know her and David wasn't hearing from Lana on the website, he tracked down her home address and showed up on her front doorstep -- only to learn Lana didn't really live there and she had given him a fake address.
90 Day Fiance viewers were led to believe Lana didn't exist or Lana was a scammer.
Once David returned to the United States heartbroken and disappointed, he hired a private investigator to hopefully track Lana down and give him some information about the mysterious woman's whereabouts.
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE: HAPPILY EVER AFTER?' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
After doing some research, the PI determined Lana had been scamming David because Lana was on several dating websites, sharing the same pictures of herself under different names.
David grew irritated, angry and defensive, venting to the cameras, "He doesn't know her, as I do... I'm not giving up until I actually get to meet her... I have to find out from her the real truth."
David heard from Lana a few weeks later and she allegedly told him that she felt nervous and overwhelmed by his visit to Ukraine and that's why she didn't show up. David therefore decided to try again and give Lana another shot.
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Lana said she was "very happy" to be engaged so David could start the K-1 visa paperwork. Lana told the cameras her intent was to leave the dating website once and for all and then move to Las Vegas to start a life with David.
But on the season's Tell-All reunion special, David revealed Lana didn't like the fame and attention 90 Day Fiance had brought her and she ultimately ended their romance.
"Right now, I would say we are not together. I'm not going to say we won't be together in the future, but right now, we are not. She is just under way too much stress with what's going on with the show and the people that bother her," David explained.
"I've told her, 'That's partly your fault; you could get off [the websites].'"
David continued, "She told me a couple of weeks ago that all she wanted was a white picket fence and a simple life with me and traveling in the RV. She loves that idea."
David had been engaged four times before meeting Lana, both to American and Ukrainian women, and had dated 30 girls in Ukraine -- a country he's traveled to about two dozen times -- when he and Lana were on a break during their seven-year relationship.
Since David and Lana's relationship was in limbo at the time of the Tell-All, David confessed he was still using the dating website and Lana's K-1 visa paperwork, which he had in fact started, was on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
David also revealed his plans to retire early and said if Lana didn't want to take him back, he'd probably move forward with his life by dating other women in Ukraine and spending months at a time there.
David therefore concluded, "We'll see what happens with that, see if I can't change her mind and see if she comes back [to me]."
David's friend Victoria said on the final part of the Tell-All that Lana was "most likely" still scamming David, adding, "She is keeping him on the hook. She is keeping him in her life [as a backup option]."
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
