Michael Nance, who competed for Emily Maynard's heart on The Bachelorette's eighth season, has sadly passed away.
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Nance, a pop singer and songwriter, was only 31-years-old when he died.
"At this point it is not a suspicious death and the manner will be determined by the medical examiner," a spokesperson for the Austin Police Department Homicide Unit in Texas told E! News.
Although the cause of death has yet to be disclosed, the runner-up of Maynard's The Bachelorette season, Arie Luyendyk Jr., suggested in a tweet that Nance's death was linked to substance abuse.
"I will always remember my friend Michael Nance for his kind and fragile soul. Addiction is a terrible disease, may he finally find peace," Luyendyk Jr. wrote.
At the time Nance competed on The Bachelorette in 2012, he was dubbed a 26-year-old rehab counselor from Austin, TX. The suitor revealed in his introduction package for the season that he had previously struggled with prescription painkillers abuse.
"Right now, life is good, but I haven't put as much focus on my love life because the way I was a couple years ago, no one would have wanted to be around me. I was addicted to prescription pain medicine. It all starts out fun and then somewhere along the road, it just turned into something else. It's a vicious cycle and it ate away at me for a long time," Nance had said.
"I'm almost two years sober, now, and it's not that easy -- you have to completely change your way of living. But my life is really, really good today. I'm happy and I'm content, but there are things missing in my life. I would like to find my soul mate."
Maynard and Sean Lowe, who finished third on her season, also expressed their sympathy and condolences following the news of Nance's sudden and unexpected passing.
"So sad waking up to the news about Michael Nance. Such a kind heart with so much talent," Maynard tweeted Tuesday of the musician. "Sending prayers and love to his family and friends."
Lowe took to Twitter as well, writing, "My heart breaks to hear about the passing of my friend Michael Nance. He was a sweet man with a kind soul. We all loved him on Bachelorette."
Maynard eliminated Nance, along with one other guy, during The Bachelorette's fourth Season 8 Rose Ceremony, which filmed in Bermuda and aired June 4, 2012 on ABC.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWNance had made it to the Top 10 bachelors.
"I'm disappointed. I'm sad that I'm leaving," Nance said in tears following his ouster.
"I've never been in love before, but I hope that I fall in love. I came here to see if Emily was the one for me and it turns out she's not."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
