Famous mommy blogger Heather Armstrong has died by suicide at the age of 48.
Her boyfriend Pete Ashdown found her body at their Salt Lake City home on Tuesday night.
The pioneering blogger, known as Dooce to fans, battled alcoholism and depression throughout her life and became famous for writing candidly about her struggles with motherhood.
Pete said Heather had been sober for over 18 months, but recently had a relapse before her tragic death.
Devastated Pete announced the death of the "love of my life" on her Instagram page, entitled Dooce, today (May 10), with tributes flooding in from her loyal legion of fans.
"Heather Brooke Hamilton aka Heather B. Armstrong aka Dooce aka love of my life. July 19, 1975 - May 9, 2023," Pete shared on her page alongside a snap of the blogger.
"It takes an ocean not to break. Hold your loved ones close and love everyone else."
Heather had two children - 19-year-old Leta and 13-year-old Marlo - with her former husband and business partner Jon Armstrong.
She began Dooce in 2001 and built her blog into a successful business.
After five years of blogging, Heather's website had garnered 8.5 million viewers per month, with her reportedly making over $100,000 annually from adverts on her site.
She was one of the first mommy bloggers and wrote candidly about her children, family dramas and relationships.
In 2009 she published her memoir “It Sucked and then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown and a Much Needed Margarita.”
Heather appeared on Oprah and was on the Forbes list of most influential women in media.
Then in 2012 the Armstrongs announced their divorce and Heather started dating Pete Ashdown, a former US senate candidate, nearly six years ago.
Fans flocked to the comments section of the post which announced Heather's death, with many writing touching tributes.
"Literally gasped out loud. She was a fierce spirit and a fighter through and through. Her words changed the world. I will always remember the way she wrote about her birth story with Marlo. Those words are forever in my heart," penned one fan.
Another added: "So very sad to read this. She paved the way for all of us."
"Dooce was the original. She arguably spurred an entire parent blogging economy - and kept a community from the start. Devastating loss," wrote a third.
While a fourth penned: "I started reading her in 2002, and on my blogroll links I listed her blog as 'God's gift to the internet'."
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