By Maria Vultaggio
Managing Editor, Culture & Trends
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Former WWE star Matt Cappotelli died Friday after battling brain cancer. He was 38 years old. Cappotelli became known in the wrestling world in 2003 after he was one of the winners the reality show WWE Tough Enough III.
His wife, Lindsay, took to Instagram Friday to mourn her late husband.
"Watching someone die to this disease is absolutely the most horrific thing ever," she wrote on her Instagram story. She followed the story by posting a black-and-white picture of herself with Cappotelli. Both she and her husband are smiling in the photo.
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"Today my love—my strong, sweet, beautiful love—took his last breath at 3:30 a.m. and went home to be with Jesus...exactly one year after his brain surgery," she captioned the post.
"You think you can be prepared for this when you know it's coming, but you just can't," Lindsay Cappotelli continued. "The only person whose comfort I want right now is the one who can't give it to me...I miss him so much already. I know where he is now is so much better, but it doesn't change how much I miss him. It's so much harder than I even thought it would be."
Cappotelli's rise to fame was cut short when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. That same year, he and Lindsay Cappotelli, a personal trainer, married. He survived the battle, but his cancer resurfaced in 2017. The wrestler was open about his diagnoses, speaking about it to hopefully give strength to those who were fighting a similar battle.
"If I can inspire others to not give up on the life they've been blessed to have, that's what I'm trying to spread – hope," he told WWE.com last year. "Life is the most precious gift we're given."
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In her bio on her website, Lindsay talks about being married to an "amazing" man. "He is an answered prayer and my very best friend," she writes. "We don't have kids yet, but we treat our 130 pounds white German Shepherd, Asher, like a child."
Cappotelli was mourned by stars in the WWE world, including Mike "The Miz" Mizanin. "In 2005, Matt Cappotelli and I were gonna be brought up to WWE Smackdown as the tag team Reality Check. One day out of nowhere he called me and said that he had just been diagnosed with brain cancer," Mizanin wrote on Instagram Friday.
"On the phone, even with this scary news he remained positive and was gonna fight to beat cancer," the wrestler continued. "He has been fighting for his life ever since. Every time I saw him he was positive and always had a smile on his face. Today, we lost a good one. A true fighter. My condolences to his wife and family. Matt, you will be missed, my friend."
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