Haley Odlozil, who shared her journey with terminal ovarian cancer on TikTok, has passed away. She was 30 years old.
Her husband, Taylor Odlozil, revealed the heartbreaking news on social media Friday. Alongside a family picture with their 4-year-old son Weston, he wrote in a lengthy statement:
“It is with unbelievable sadness that I tell all of you my sweet Haley has passed away. I cannot begin to describe the amount of heartache & grief myself & our entire family is experiencing. I never knew my heart could physically hurt. I’ve never seen someone fight so hard to live. Her love for me, Weston, her family, & her friends is what has kept her going for so many years, especially the last 8 months. I’m so blessed to have had Haley a part of my life for 16 years. It has been my true honor to take care of her.”
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He continued:
“I am so grateful for the lessons I have learned from Haley. As the husband I have seen every moment. The happy ones & the sad ones. One thing I can tell you, she suffered greatly fighting this disease that slowly tore her body apart for the last 8 years. The thought of her being completely healed in a body with no pain & no scars in heaven makes me so incredibly happy for her but so overwhelmingly sad I’m not there to see it. My fear of death is so much less knowing I will get to see her one day completely healed. I cannot wait for that day.”
Taylor went on to express his gratitude for getting to witness “Haley fulfill her life purpose of becoming a mom,” adding:
“She was an incredible mother. My heart breaks most for Weston. I don’t think he will ever fully understand what he meant to Haley. He was everything to her. I love you, Haley. More than I can put into words. You are a part of who I am and I will never stop loving you. I can’t wait to see you again.”
Concluding the post, the social media personality thanked their followers for sharing “so much support & prayers for so long” for their family:
“Because of who Haley is, her story has exploded across the world. I’ve received emails & messages from people from just about every country. She has changed so many people & brought awareness to this terrible disease. I’m so proud of that. She always said she didn’t want her suffering to be wasted. Haley wanted people to learn from her. I would say she accomplished that!”
Our hearts break for this family. You can read the entire announcement (below):
For those who don’t know their story, Taylor and Haley have been high school sweethearts since 2008. And just weeks before their wedding in 2015, she received the devastating news of her diagnosis of ovarian cancer. They welcomed their son via a surrogate four years later. When the couple found out about Haley’s terminal diagnosis in October 2022, Taylor began to document their journey on TikTok. He posted a video about the family’s story on Thanksgiving Day in 2022. At the time, Taylor only had around 50 followers.
But within hours of posting the video, their story went viral. From then on, they continued to document her journey with cancer in the hopes of spreading awareness and building a community of support for others. But more than that, Hailey shared with People in June she wanted a “time capsule” for Weston for when he gets older:
“My biggest thing that I have always wanted from the get-go is that I never want him to think that I left by choice. I want him to know how hard I tried to stay here to be with them. I want him to know how hard and how much I love him and his daddy, and that I tried to do everything I possibly could with the time that I had, to make sure that we made memories.”
As for what she wanted their over 2 million followers to take away from her videos? Haley told the outlet at the time:
“Do not take your life for granted. Always have perspective. Everything in life is about perspective. And whether you’re sitting in traffic, whether it’s raining, there’s something good in every day. Instead of being mad it’s raining, roll down your windows, smell the freshly rained-on grass. There’s something good in every day. Always be thankful for where there are good things. Don’t focus on the bad things.”
We’re sending love and light to Taylor and Weston during this difficult time. Rest in peace, Haley…
[Image via Haley Odlozil/Instagram]
