Dustin Diamond’s girlfriend Tash said she is “heartbroken” after the death of the actor “Saved by the Bell” earlier this week.
‘He was the love of my life. We planned a future together and often talked about having children, ”the 39-year-old pharmacist associate told the Daily Mail, adding that she last spoke to him the day before he died. “Although he had trouble breathing and speaking, he was able to say the words ‘I love you’ to me, I told him I loved him too.”
Diamond died Monday at age 44, just weeks after being diagnosed with stage 4 small cell lung carcinoma.
According to Tash, Diamond was released from hospital on Monday to his friend Jules’ Ft. Myers, Fla., Home for Hospice Care. While Jules and the hospice worker prepared his bedroom, Tash found that Diamond in the front room was not breathing.
His best friend, Dan Block, explained that he was able to talk last week, but could barely breathe on Sundays.
“We don’t know exactly when Dustin actually died, whether he died at Jules’ house or if he died on the way after leaving the hospital,” Block told the outlet. “It was awful… we all cried that he was gone. We knew he was suffering and not now. ”
Block said Diamond did not want a gravestone or service and will be cremated next week.
“Dustin was scared, he often called me crying and told me he didn’t want to die,” his friend explained. ‘He was in a lot of pain. Once on the phone, he told me, “Find me a new body, I don’t want to die.” ”
Block also described a phone call Diamond received in his final days from “Diff’rent Strokes” actor Todd Bridges.
According to Block, Bridges said to Diamond, “Hey man, love you brother, see you again soon.”
Block said Bridges was the last person to speak to Diamond, other than himself and Tash.
Thinking about better days, Tash shared exactly how her under-the-radar relationship with Diamond came about through Facebook.
‘We had mutual friends. One day I received a message from him, something like, “Hi, how are you?” I didn’t think it was him, but thought he might be a troll so I decided to play along.
“I wasn’t sure I was talking to the real Dustin Diamond until I met him in person and we just clicked.”