90 DAY FIANCE Guillermo’s brother Jose passed away in June, 2021

90 Day Fiance couple Kara Bass and Guillermo Rojer Castillo shared a very emotional and devastating moment with viewers on this week’s episode. After struggling with serious health issues, Guillermo’s older brother Jose passed away.

Guillermo’s family reached out to him the day before Jose died to let Guillermo know that his brother’s condition had gotten worse.

Here’s how Kara explained things in her confessional:

Last night, Guillermo got a phone call from his family, saying that his brother, Jose Joaquin, was in the hospital with renal failure. Back in the Dominican Republic, Jose Joaquin had to move in with his middle brother in a different city so that they could, like, kind of, care take for him.

He’s been going through some dialysis for about a year, prior to him being hospitalized, and so I think last night, things really took a turn for the worse and that they didn’t think he was gonna make it.

Guillermo was clearly torn up and distressed about the news. “When I was little, I was actually super close with Jose Joaquin, and we spent beautiful moments,” Guillermo told the TLC cameras. “And if I could think how I will feel if my brother could die… [exhales heavily] …it could definitely be one of the worst things.”

Guillermo got the terrible news early the next morning. From Kara:

At about 4AM this morning, Guillermo got a phone call saying that his brother passed away. He was doing better when he heard from him yesterday. He was having coherent thoughts, and, you know, speaking pretty clearly. We had talked about if this were to happen, what ifs and all those things, but I don’t think any of us expected it to be so soon.

“I’m still in shock just because it’s my brother,” Guillermo said. “Right now I cannot even say, like, ‘I lost my brother.'”

All of the drama playing out in the couple’s relationship this season was completely abandoned as Kara comforted Guillermo. It was a very difficult scene to watch, but was also an uplifting reminder that these two share a genuine love for one another.

Guillermo reflected on Jose and how his passing would forever impact his life moving forward. “My brother was the kind of person who could do whatever is possible to make everyone feel happy. And to honor him is never change who I am, because he was so proud of me.”

According to social media posts made by Guillermo and Jose’s mother, Jose died on or around June 17, 2021. That looks to be less than a month after Kara traveled to the Dominican Republic to see Guillermo and fly back with him to the United States.

You can see Kara and Guillermo with his brothers Jose and Christopher in the photo at the top of this post. The image was part of a gallery shared by Guillermo’s mother Roxana on May 22, 2021. One year later, Roxana posted the gallery again and added a new message: “Who knew, less than a month later I wouldn’t be Jota among us. Now with God in his kingdom.”

2021 was an incredibly difficult year for Guillermo’s family. Prior to Jose’s passing, Guillermo’s mother had some very serious medical issues of her own that required a serious heart procedure. Kara did her best to help out the family by starting a GoFundMe campaign for Roxana in February of 2021.

Here’s the description from the campaign:

Roxanna is a 53 year old, mother of 3 who desperately needs your help. Recently, she found out that she would be needing a cardiac catheterization procedure. She currently lives in Yaracuy, Venezuela. Because of the declining infrastructure and political erosion, meeting this amount, in the time needed, will be nearly impossible without some help. A small donation can go a very long way. Thank you!

There was no update added to the campaign, but they did manage to raise $3,250 of the $5,000 goal.

Jose reveals on the show that he plans to honor his brother by not changing who he is. That would include making his love for Kara official. I’m sure it was difficult to move on with wedding plans amidst such grief, but Kara and Guillermo remained on a 90-day countdown.

As we previously reported, Kara and Guillermo did get married within the 90 days. The wedding was a civil ceremony on July 23, 2021 and was officiated by the Chief Deputy Sheriff of Charlottesville.

As if that wasn’t enough good news for the young couple, reliable sources are reporting that Kara is currently pregnant with their first child!

Although it is almost a year since Jose’s passing, our thoughts are still with Guillermo and his family. No 90 Day Fiance couple is immune from criticism, but most fans will likely agree that Guillermo seems like a very kind and sincere person. I cannot imagine how painful it was to lose his brother and not be able to be with his family. 💔

Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com