Michelle Dockery’s fiancé John Dineen, 34, of Ireland, has died of a rare form of cancer. Dockery is best-known for playing Lady Mary on Downton Abbey; she and John Dineen had been together for just over two years.
Dockery had just begun an American press tour in advance of Downton Abbey‘s final season, which begins airing on PBS January 3rd. She rushed home to be by Dineen’s side in his final hours, and was with him when he died at Marymount Hospice in Cork, Ireland.
Dockery released a statement via her publicist in which she thanked fans for their “support and kindness,” and added that she and Dineen’s family “kindly request that they are left to grieve in private.”
Michelle Dockery is known for being protective of her privacy; she and John Dineen began dating in September of 2013, but she didn’t confirm the relationship until September of 2014, when she acknowledged “I have a wonderful man in my life from Ireland. We were introduced by Allen Leech. That’s all you need to know.”
(Allen Leech portrays Tom Branson on Downton Abbey.)
According to the Irish Independent, John Dineen recieved his cancer diagnosis earlier this year, and had moved to Germany to begin treatment.
Despite widespread coverage Dineen’s death, the precise type of cancer with which he was diagnosed has not been announced.
(Photo credits: John Dineen via Daniel Deme / WENN.com)
