The real-life Fault in Our Stars couple has died five days apart from each other.
Both had long suffered from cystic fibrosis; Katie Prager, 26, died today in Kentucky, with her family and dogs by her side. Her husband, Dalton Prager, 25, passed on Sunday in Missouri.
Katie’s mom wrote a poignant tribute to her daughter this morning.
Katie and her mom also took to Facebook Sunday to announce Dalton’s passing.
Like the characters from the book and 2014 film, Katie and Dalton were first brought together by their disease. The pair met on Facebook in 2009 and were married two years later. They lived in the same home for a while before moving to separate states so family members could care for them. They continued to text, call, and Skype often, despite the 400 miles of distance between them, according to People. Hospital transport had also arranged to bring Dalton a half-hour away from Katie right before his death, but he was too sick to make the trip.
“We told each other we loved each other the first day we met in person. We just knew,” Katie previously told People. “He understood everything about me. He knew what I was going through, and he was just my other half. And I knew it.”
Jessica Machado is the IRL editor of the Daily Dot. Previously, she was an associate editor at Rolling Stone. Her work has been published in the Washington Post, Elle, Vice, Salon, BuzzFeed, Guernica, Bitch, Bust, the Cut, the Awl, the Toast, among others.
