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NEED TO KNOW
- After Shay Martin announced the death of her husband, Tanner Martin, on June 25, she posted a second pre-recorded video in which the late content creator shares his “last wish”
- Martin — who died at age 30 after a five-year journey with colon cancer — asked viewers to donate to a GoFundMe page set up to support his wife and their newborn daughter, AmyLou
- News of Martin’s death comes one month after they announced their daughter’s arrival on May 15. The fundraiser has already surpassed its original $250,000 goal by over double the amount
Tanner Martin shared some final words and a heartfelt request in a pre-recorded video posted after his death at age 30, following his journey with colon cancer for five years.
Martin’s wife, Shay Wright, shared the heartbreaking news that her husband had died in an Instagram post published on Wednesday, June 25. It featured Tanner speaking directly to the camera in a pre-recorded video announcing that he had died.
“Hey, it’s me, Tanner, if you’re watching this, I am dead,” he began. “I had a heck of a life. I decided to make this video announcing my death because I saw someone did that, like, a year or so ago, and I think it’s a good opportunity to get all your thoughts out.”
In the caption, Wright directed viewers to a second video, writing, “May the force be with you from our angel force ghost🤍 see the next video for his wish.”
The following clip shows Martin sitting beside their infant daughter, AmyLou, whom they affectionately call Jiaozi. They announced her birth on May 15. Her arrival came five years after they started documenting their life online when Tanner was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at age 25.
In their most recent video after Martin’s death, he opened by thanking their fans and followers “for all the love and support” they showed him and Wright as they prepared to welcome their daughter.
“As a lot of you know, my cancer is terminal, so there’s a really, really good chance that Jiaozi will not have any real memories of me, and that Shay could raise Jiaozi all by herself,” he said.
Martin continued to explain that they were setting up a GoFundMe to help Wright and their baby with future financial needs.
“It’ll help replace my income. It’ll help pay for babysitting. It’ll help for school, for her wedding. All these things that normally Shay and I would do together,” he added. “If I’m gone, it’s gonna be really hard for Shay to do on her own.”
Shay Martin/Instagram
The fundraiser page’s description asks that fans contribute what they can, “whether it’s $1, $5, $50, or more,” to help “Tanner’s two greatest loves, Shay and AmyLou, move forward with hope and security.”
Since launching the page, they’ve raised over $505,000, surpassing their original $250,000 aim. Updates to the GoFundMe site state that they’ve since raised their goal by $400,000.