The death of Johnny Ruffo at 35 has left Australia reeling.
Just weeks before the beloved star lost his years-long battle with brain cancer, he shared a final moving photo to Instagram.
The image from July – the last single snap shared by the former Home and Away star – showed him smiling bravely from hospital as he received treatment.
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Ruffo’s stoic spirit was clear to see in the image, in which he displayed a thumbs-up for the camera.
He had a colourful favourite phrase that he used liberally on social media – “f*** cancer”.
And that moving, final photo of his was fittingly accompanied by three boxing glove emojis.
“Back to reality”, the former X Factor star had captioned the image.
In the weeks before that hospital photo was published, Ruffo had shared highlights from a romantic getaway in Queenstown, New Zealand, with his girlfriend Tahnee Sims.
The trip – which involved a helicopter ride and scenic spa dates – was to be one of his final adventures.
Ruffo’s death was confirmed via a statement shared to his Instagram page on November 10.
“It is with a heavy heart that today we had to farewell our beloved Johnny,” the statement read.
“Surrounded by his partner Tahnee and family, Johnny went peacefully with the support of some incredible nurses & doctors.
“He was a very talented, charming and sometimes cheeky boy.
“Johnny was very determined and had a strong will.
“He battled all the way to the end and fought as hard as he could.
“Such a beautiful soul with so much more to give.
“We all love you Johnny and will remember you for all the joy you brought to our lives. Rest easy.”
In 2022, Ruffo confirmed that his brain cancer was terminal, but said he was committed to battling the disease as best he could and to living life to the fullest.
“I understand that the cancer is terminal, but you know, I’m going to do everything I can and I am currently doing everything I can to kick its a***,” he told 7Life in 2022.
“I feel like s***. I’m always fatigued, just walking up a set of stairs.
“By the time I get to the top I just want to have a sleep.”
Reflecting on his initial diagnosis in 2017, Ruffo said: “I felt like I was just kicking goals and I just couldn’t miss, and then all of a sudden the roof came crashing down.
“I mean, I was like ‘goddammit’. Everything just came to a grinding halt.
“And it was going so well — I felt as though everything that I wanted to achieve, I was achieving.”
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