14 DAY TRIAL // Michael Fortunato, who appeared on season 2 of MTV’s hit reality series “Catfish,” has died. He was only 26 years old and passed away from a pulmonary embolism, his sister confirms for MTV News.
She says that he was driving himself to the hospital when he hit a fence. The report also notes that the pulmonary embolism was caused by deep vein thrombosis, but contributing factors were also obesity and cardiomyopathy.
Michael’s sister told the publication that she’s still to process the loss.
“I don’t even know where to start. He was a little kid at heart — a gentle giant. He’s somebody who put everybody before himself; everybody else came before him. The biggest heart that you’d ever meet,” she says.
Ashley Sawyer, who was featured on the same episode of “Catfish” as Michaek, also released a statement in light of his passing.
“He would give anybody the last shirt he had — anything. He would put his life on hold just to make sure other people moved forward. He always put people first. […] If more people were like Mike, everybody would be a little happier in the world,” Ashley said.