John Dineen – the fiancé of Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery – has passed away at the age of 34.
A senior director at a London-based consulting firm, Dineen had been battling a rare form of cancer since earlier this year.
With Dockery at his bedside, he passed away on Sunday at a hospice facility near his birthplace in Cork County, Ireland.
Dockery – who is best known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley on the acclaimed British period drama – began dating Dineen in 2013 after they were introduced by her Downton co-star Allen Leech.
She released a statement through her publicist today in which she thanked fans for their “kindness and support.”
The statement concluded with a request that the Dineen and Dockery families be “left to grieve in private.”
Fiercely protective of her privacy, Dockery was rarely seen in public with Dineen and avoided mentioning their relationship in interviews.
She first mentioned her in engagement in a September 2014 interview, saying, “I have a wonderful man in my life from Ireland.”
Reps for Dockery have stated that she will not be speaking publicly on the matter of Dineen’s death and that fans and well-wishers donate to cancer research organizations in lieu of sending gifts.
