Bobby Zarin, husband of Real Housewives of New York star Jill, has passed away aged 71 after a prolonged cancer battle.

Zarin officially announced the sad news via her personal website yesterday. "With the heaviest of hearts, we are devastated to share the news that our beloved Bobby Zarin passed away peacefully today surrounded by family after a courageous battle with cancer," the statement read. "There are no words to describe how heartbroken we are. Thank you, everyone for all your love, and support through this difficult time."

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Bobby made regular appearances on the Bravo series alongside his wife, who starred as a main cast member for the first four seasons of the show. Zarin made a name for himself in the fabric sales industry with the third-generation owned Zarin Fabric Emporium situated on New York's Lower East Side. According to the Daily Mail, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2009. After having surgery to have his thyroid removed, he also underwent radioactive iodine treatment and had great hopes of beating the disease once and for all.

Speaking to People at the time, he said, "The radioactive iodine usually kills off whatever undetectable cancer cells are left in your body after surgery. We thought it was cured - and it usually is in about 93 percent of cases. But I wasn't able to absorb the radioactive iodine, so it came back." Seven years later in 2016, the family announced that the cancer spread to his lungs and brain. They still remained hopeful that with further surgery Zarin would be able to make a full recovery, but unfortunately, his condition deteriorated.

The couple celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary earlier this month, with Jill posting a picture of the pair with the heartfelt caption: "Happy 18th! Anniversary to the love of my life, Bobby Zarin. Bobby is the most perfect man I know. He never loses anything, never forgets anything and when I think he is wrong...he is always right!" The mogul is survived by his three children Jonathan, David, and Jennifer, along with his stepdaughter Allyson.

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Kate Prince (87 Articles Published)

Kate Prince is a freelance writer based in Swindon, UK. As well as writing feature news for Moms, Kate contributes to over a dozen websites, including The Talko, Baby Gaga, The Things, Buzznet, Idolator and ConsumerHealthDigest. Kate lives with her daughter and loves sharing everything that she's learned throughout motherhood - mainly that nothing stays clean and Spongebob Squarepants is overrated. Passionate about lifestyle and entertainment, Kate has been writing ever since she was a child and is always looking for the next story. You can follow Kate on Twitter @_KatiePrince and Instagram @thekateprince.

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