Reality

’90 Day Fiance’ Star Reportedly Dead: Ben Rathbun Was 55

The 90 Day Fiancé star first appeared on Season 5 of Before the 90 Days.

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90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days star Ben Rathbun has died following a battle with stomach cancer, TMZ reports. He was 55.

The reality personality, who first appeared on Season 5 of the TLC show, died Monday at his home in Greencastle, Indiana, according to the outlet, which reported that Rathbun had been diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer at the end of 2024.

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Rathbun first stepped into the spotlight on 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days alongside his then-girlfriend Mahogany Roca. While Rathbun’s friends and family feared the 52-year-old father of four was being catfished by the 22-year-old from Peru, Roca was who she said she was when he traveled down to meet her.

The two still had plenty of ups and downs in their relationship, but in August 2022 announced they had gotten engaged. Then in a February 2024 episode of 90 Day Diaries, the couple said they had gotten married in an oceanfront civil ceremony.

“Our civil ceremony was just brilliant, I could not believe how beautiful it was,” Rathbun said on the episode. “But we are still planning on having a religious ceremony.”

Despite their marriage, Rathbun said his new bride still needed him to “build trust with her.” He explained at the time, “We’re just going through a really difficult transition. I’ve gone about six months without a really good job and bills have been piling up of course. Things are extremely tight now and I’m doing everything I can right now to pay all the bills and for my next trip to Peru.”

Rathbun also had his fair share of legal issues to deal with, as he was arrested in March 2022 for failing to appear at a probation violation hearing stemming from his original arrest in 2020 for operating while under the influence and driving with a suspended license. He was originally sentenced in January 2021 to 18 months’ probation.