If you are in an emergency in the United States or Canada, please call 911. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255. Youth can call the Kids Help Phone on 1-800-668-6868.
The “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” twins who died in a suicide “couldn’t live without each other” after one was diagnosed with cancer, it was reported.
Billy and Joe Smith, who were featured on the TLC show, were found dead on Saturday morning in Kent, England, officials said.
Family members told The Telegraph that Joe was diagnosed with cancer in recent days, which greatly impacted his twin brother. The paper reported that the two then made a suicide pact.
“Joey had cancer, and Billy told him, ‘I’d never be able to live without you,'” cousin Phoebe Charleen Smith told the paper. She claimed Joe was living cancer-free after treatment. However, she wasn’t sure about how accurate that claim was.
Billy (left) and Joe Smith. (Facebook/selfie)
“Joey told the family he got the all-clear after chemo two months ago, but we don’t know if that’s true now,” she said.
The family became fearful when they discovered a note from the brothers after they went missing.
“They went missing, and Joey’s phone was turned off. Then we found a note,” Smith told the Telegraph. “It said that they wanted it like this, and we would find them in the woods where they played with the family years ago.”
“The boys seemed happy to everyone that saw them,” a friend added to the news outlet. “The closer family were concerned that they were battling depression, but they were very good at hiding it.”
The twins starred in the third season of the popular TV show, which followed the lives of Irish traveler families between 2011 and 2015.
Sky News and other local media outlets reported that police were called after the two were found dead on Saturday at around 11:30 a.m.
One of the show’s stars, Paddy Doherty, posted a video of the two on Facebook, saying: “Two twin boys, two good looking boys, God rest their souls,” reported Sky News.
“I’m very, very sorry for their troubles, at the start of the New Year as well,” he said. Billy’s girlfriend, Kristina Delaney, also paid tribute, writing, “Hardest day of my life.”
“RIP my perfect Bill you were so pure so lovely,“ she added. ”You made me the happiest girl. Did everything for me showed me love i never had you always see stuff like this but you just never think it’ll happen to you. I can’t believe I have to type this together struggling to speak never mind put a sentence together, I’m gonna make you so so proud my bill, my life, my angel,” according to the London Evening Standard.
Suicide Hotlines
If you are in an emergency in the United States or Canada, please call 911. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255. Youth can call the Kids Help Phone on 1-800-668-6868.
In the United Kingdom, call Samaritans at 116 123, Papyrus at 0800 068 41 41, or Childline at 0800 1111.
In Australia, the suicide prevention hotline at Lifeline is 13 11 14. You can also visit the Lifeline website at lifeline.org.au. Youth can contact the Kids Helpline by phoning 1-800-551-800 or visiting headspace.org.au/yarn-safe
If you are in an emergency in India, call Befrienders India – National Association at +91 33 2474 4704.
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
