By Gavin Boyle
REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY alum Lydia McLaughlin shared that she is leaning on the strength of the Lord after the unexpected death of her brother.
“My family has experienced an unimaginable loss. My brother, Geoff, was tragically taken and our hearts are shattered. 💔…” she wrote on an Instagram post featuring a picture of her brother. “I can’t believe we’re facing this pain just 6 months after losing my best friend and mother. I know they’re both with Jesus now, and He’s walking with me through this darkness. One step at a time. 🤍🕊️🪽 Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us.🙏🏼”
As McLaughlin alluded to in her post, this is the family’s second loss in six months following her mother’s death last October from breast cancer.
“My mom battled breast cancer for many years,” McLaughling shared last year. “She lived two years longer than her Dr.s expected…She was very private about being sick, she never wanted that to be part of her identity. She is the strongest person I’ve ever met and I have learned so much walking with her through this journey.”
“I am so thankful to be her daughter,” McLaughlin later added. “I feel so close to the Lord through this journey and I have no doubt she is throwing glitter in heaven. My heart is broken she isn’t with us anymore.”
McLaughlin’s mother was her best friend, and Geoff has been a close confidant since the passing, which has made his death all the more devastating.
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“My family and I are devastated by the loss of my brother,” McLaughlin told PEOPLE. “We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support from friends, family, and the community. We kindly ask for privacy as we mourn.”
“Geoffrey was a loving son, brother, uncle and friend,” added their father, Scott Stirling. “He was a television producer, script writer, actor, and model. He attended church every Sunday and supported multiple charities. We miss him already.”
McLaughlin’s brother Jesse also mourned the loss of their brother with a lengthy eulogy posted on Instagram that lamented his passing and recalled the amazing moments they shared.
“We have hundreds of photos together and shared thousands of adventures. I don’t even know how to begin this memorial,” Jesse wrote. “I’ll just say that you left us too soon at age 45. I’ll miss your spirit full of laughter and boundless enthusiasm. Though our time together was heartbreakingly cut short, the memories we created will forever echo in my heart.”
Please keep McLaughlin and her family in your prayers as they navigate a second heartbreaking loss in so little time.
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