David Murphey, ‘90 Day Fiancé’ Star, Dead At 66

David Murphey, known to television audiences for his appearance on TLC’s “90 Day Fiancé” franchise, died Dec. 11. He was 66.

Murphey’s family confirmed the software engineer-turned-reality television personality’s death in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday.

“David 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 Fiancé: 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. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and fans.”

Though the statement didn’t note a cause of death, a spokesperson for the Clark County Coroner’s office told the Los Angeles Times Thursday that Murphey died of cardiac arrhythmia and hypertensive cardiovascular disease. He also had a history of pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the lungs.

Murphey’s final Instagram post ― dated March 28, 2023 ― was a short video in which he alluded to a number of health concerns, including issues with his kidney, liver and pancreas, that had required him to be hospitalized.

“They can’t figure out what it is,” he said in the clip. “I’ve been really out of commission. I’ve been canceling all these trips.”

Watch a clip of Murphey’s appearance on “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” below.

Murphey rose to national prominence in 2020 when he appeared on the fourth season of the “90 Day Fiancé” spinoff series, “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days.”

The show chronicled his journey to Ukraine, where he was able to finally meet his girlfriend, Lana Svetlana, in person after having connected with her online about seven years earlier.

The couple’s relationship garnered intense scrutiny among viewers given that Svetlana had seemingly stood up Murphey on his four previous Ukraine trips. A U.S.-based private investigator also confirmed to Murphey that Svetlana was active on several dating sites as the pair were communicating.

Though Murphey memorably proposed to Svetlana on the Season 4 finale episode of “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days,” he later confirmed that they’d split months later.

“She thought that, ‘Well, now that we’re engaged, now you can help me do the things that you promised,’ like get her some English lessons, actually move her into an apartment,” he recalled on an episode of “90 Day Diaries” that aired in 2022. “But part of my conditions for doing that was to get her off the [dating] website and she didn’t get off the websites, so I didn’t offer any of those bonuses, so four months into our engagement, we just stopped communicating.”

In recent years, Murphey appeared to put romance on the back burner in favor of traveling across the U.S. In 2022, he purchased on RV and had since been documenting many of his travels on Instagram.