The midst of a shocking divorce, Deon Derrico is dealing with more horrible news: the death of a loved one.
The Doubling Down With the Derricos star announced on July 20 that his nephew, who had guest starred on the show previously, had died just that week.
The news is as heartbreaking as it was unexpected.
‘Doubling Down With the Derricos’ Star Dead: Deon’s Nephew Passes Away
On Saturday, July 20 the Doubling Down with the Derricos star revealed that his nephew, Amani, died following a long battle with autoimmune hepatitis.
“My Family, friends, and fans….It is with great sadness that I #DEONDERRICO Announce the passing of my loving nephew Amani Barkley! Our family is devastated,” the reality TV star wrote in an Instagram post.
He reminded longtime viewers of the show that Amani was the son of his “late brother Christopher S. Turner, and Stacey Dickey” In the fourth season of Doubling Down With the Derricos, the family met Amani for the first time after a DNA test confirmed that he was related to Deon and and his mother, GG. Over the course of the season, the family’s close bond and relationship grew and flourished.
“You guys along with my family fell in love with him and in this short time we have built a bond with Amani, and merged our families forever!”
The post included a photo of Deon holding Amani’s hand, seemingly sharing that he was with his nephew near the end.
In the caption, he included information about making donations in lieu of flowers to the “Deon Derrico and Marian Derrico Foundation,” with the proceeds going towards families for liver transplant and cancer patients.
Deon’s Ex Karen Pays Her Respects
Despite the pair being in the middle of a divorce, Karen Derrico also took to social media to pay her respects.
In fact, since June, she had been pushing for donations to a GoFundMe page in Amani’s honor.
According to the crowdfunding site, Amani had been battling the autoimmune disease since he was 14 years old. As a result, he needed multiple liver transplants. Amani received a liver transplant on June 2, which the family believed to be successful. Unfortunately, his body rejected the organ and he underwent his third and final transplant on June 15.
In her post on Instagram following his death, Karen Derrico shared a video filled with photos of Amani spending time with her 14 children with Deon.
“#theDerricos #AmaniB #GonetooSoon Rest well Amani! Thank you for all your texts, calls, DM’s, prayers, donations, and support! This is extremely devastating to our family, and we love each and everyone for all that has been done!,” read the post.
Our thoughts go out to the whole family, especially Amani’s only son he left behind. Tragic.