Famous blogger Heather Armstrong died by suicide at her home in Salt Lake City on Tuesday at the age of 47, the Associated Press reported.
Her death was confirmed by her boyfriend, Pete Ashdown, who found her in their home, according to the Associated Press. Armstrong was known for her candid commentary about parenting and her honest accounts of her battle with depression and alcohol. Her experiences were documented on her website Dooce.com and on social media.
Ashdown said Armstrong had been sober for 18 months and recently relapsed. He did not offer any additional details about the relapse itself, or the suicide, the Associated Press reported.
Armstrong routinely shared deeply personal thoughts and feelings online and opened up her life to her readers. She was one of the most popular “mommy bloggers” and was credited as being among the first to write frankly about her family life and challenges when blogging first became recognized and grew in popularity, according to the Associated Press.
Armstrong announced her marriage was over in 2012, and divorced soon after. She began dating Ashdown, a former U.S. senate candidate, nearly six years ago, and lived with him and her children. His children from a previous marriage also spent time at their home.
Heather Armstrong, ‘Queen Of Mommy Bloggers,’ Dead By Suicide https://t.co/KfXHrrhXh4
— TMZ (@TMZ) May 10, 2023
Her blog expanded into the release of her personal memoir titled, “It Sucked and then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown and a Much Needed Margarita,” in 2009.
Armstrong was credited for her success on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and made it to the Forbes list of the most influential women in media, according to the Associated Press. (RELATED: ‘He Really Wanted To Be Everyone’s Superman’: tWitch’s Wife Breaks Her Silence After His Suicide)
The famous blogger was known to express herself unapologetically, and her blog posts were often riddled with curse words that expressed the rawness of the emotions she was feeling at the time, according to the Associated Press.