Dustin Diamond's girlfriend speaks out following actor's death: 'I'm heartbroken'
The actor's best friend recalled actor Todd Bridges calling to say goodbye
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dustin Diamond's girlfriend is speaking out following the actor's untimely death.
The "Saved by the Bell" star died Monday at age 44, not long after being diagnosed with stage four small-cell carcinoma cancer.
The actor's 39-year-old girlfriend Tash spoke with Daily Mail recently and opened up about the tragic news.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He was the love of my life," she said. "We planned on a future together and spoke often about having kids."
DUSTIN DIAMOND'S SUDDEN DEATH HAS LEFT 'SAVED BY THE BELL' CAST 'SHOCKED,' MARK-PAUL GOSSELAAR SAYS
Tash added: "I'm heartbroken."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Actor Dustin Diamond died on Monday after a battle with cancer. ((Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage))
A certified pharmacy technician, Tash recalled the last time she spoke to Diamond just a day before his death.
"Even though he was struggling to breathe and had difficulty speaking he was able to get out the words to me, 'I love you.' I told him I loved him back," she said.
She also revealed that he died at the home of their friend Jules in the Fort Myers, Fla., area.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}'SAVED BY THE BELL' STAR DUSTIN DIAMOND DEAD AT 44 AFTER BATTLE WITH STAGE 4 CANCER
Diamond was released from a hospital around midday Monday and went to the friend's house for hospice care. According to the outlet, Tash found him not breathing on a gurney while the friend and a hospice employee were preparing a bed for him.
"After I got out of our car I went into the house to be with Dustin. That was when I discovered he wasn't breathing," she recalled.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Not long after, he was pronounced dead.
Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers on "Saved by the Bell." (Getty Images)
Diamond and Tash were staying at the friend's home while theirs was being remodeled. The actor's best friend Dan Block, president of Insurance Kings, told Daily Mail that he spoke to his sick pal on the Thursday before his death.
"I spoke with Dustin the night before [he was hospitalized again], Thursday. He told me he was in a lot of pain and the meds he was taking weren't working," Block recalled. "But he was excited to see his father who was flying out from California to see him the next morning."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When Diamond was rushed to the hospital on Friday, his liver enzymes were extremely elevated, his lungs were filling with fluid, and he had difficulty breathing. Come Sunday, he was "barely speaking," Block said.
"He was able to say a few things on Sunday, and was able to ask for a smoothie. But he was in pain. He got really bad by Sunday evening," the friend recalled. "By Monday you could tell he was in pain, I think he was suffering, by the way he was breathing."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Block also revealed that actor Todd Bridges also gave Diamond a call on Monday and was able to tell the star that he'd "see [him] again one day soon."
The cast of "Saved By the Bell," from left: Mario Lopez as Alabert Clifford 'A.C.' Slater; Dennis Haskins as Mr. Richard Belding; Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle; Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski; Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Spano; Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zachary 'Zach' Morris; and Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers. (Getty Images)
Block said he and Tash aren't exactly sure whether Diamond died at the home he was being transported to, or along the way.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It was terrible. … We were all crying that he was gone. We knew he was suffering and now he wasn't," Block said. "Dustin didn't want a gravestone or a memorial service. He is going to be cremated in the next week and his remains are going to be split among Tash and his father, Mark."
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Just before Thanksgiving in 2020, Diamond called Block and revealed that he'd found a lump on his neck. When he got the lump biopsied, they found he had cancer in his spine that had spread to other parts of his body.