Johnny Ruffo credited his long-time partner for saving his life and keeping him alive for the six years since his terminal brain cancer diagnosis.
The former Home and Away and The X Factor star, 35, died peacefully surrounded by loved ones in a Sydney hospital on Friday.
Among those with Ruffo in his final moments was his partner of eight years Tahnee Sims, who was there for all of the highs and lows of his six-year cancer fight.
Ruffo died just a week shy of Ms Sims’s 30th birthday.
Ruffo was first diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017, just two years after the couple first met at a dance studio.
He made no secret of tremendous support he had from Tahnee throughout his cancer journey.
Ruffo shared countless gushing posts and credited her for ‘saving’ his life in several media interviews.
Johnny Ruffo paid a gushing tribute to his girlfriend Tahnee Sims on her 29th birthday last November. He died on Friday a week shy of her 30th birthday
Ruffo (left) credited his long-time partner Tahnee (right) as the one who saved his life
Tahnee was the one who rushed Ruffo to hospital in the first instance, after he suffered a series of ongoing migraines.
She got a call from doctors hours later to say that he was in a coma and had a brain tumour that required emergency surgery to remove it.
‘Without her I may not be here,’ Ruffo told Now To Love two years ago.
‘She was the one who made me get in the car [to go to hospital] when it [the headaches] first happened.
‘And she’s encouraging me to do things. She keeps me active, getting me to go for runs and swims.’
Ruffo previously told Who magazine: ‘I was just at home and I had a headache, but everyone has headaches and you never think much of it.
‘It had been ongoing and it just got worse and worse. It got to about 4 or 5 in the afternoon and I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t communicate with her [Tahnee] at all.’
‘Next thing I know I wake up on Tuesday and they say ‘you’ve had a brain tumour removed. When I finally came to I was like ‘holy sh*t this is serious”.
Doctors told Johnny he would have gone to sleep that night at home and never have woken up had Tahnee not rushed him to hospital.
‘I would have gone into a coma that night and Tahnee would have tried to wake up me the next morning and I just would have been out,’ Ruffo recalled.
Ruffo previously revealed it was Tahnee who rushed him to hospital in 2017 when he first suffered severe symptoms. Doctors later told him he would otherwise had died at home that night
Johnny Ruffo revealed earlier this year that he and his partner Tahnee never leave any conversation ‘on a bad note’
Just a few months ago, the couple took time away from hospital visits and ongoing treatment to enjoy a romantic getaway at a ski resort in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Ruffo paid tribute to Tahnee in his most recent Instagram post- a video documenting his six year cancer journey.
‘6 years on from diagnosis…what a fighter!’ Tahnee wrote.
Earlier this year, Ruffo revealed to fitness influencers Steph Claire Smith and Lauren Henshaw on their Kicpod podcast that the loved-up couple never leave any conversation ‘on a bad note’.
‘You know I may have a seizure or something might happen,’ he said.
‘And I just want her to know that the last thing she spoke to me about was that I loved her.’
Johnny Ruffo died peacefully on Friday with his partner of eight years by his side
Ruffo paid a gushing tribute on Tahnee’s 29th birthday last November, just three months after he revealed the devastating news that his brain cancer diagnosis was terminal.
‘Happy Birthday to this strong, incredible, amazing, beautiful lady that I am so very lucky to call my girlfriend, I hope you’ve had the most wonderful day,’ he posted.
A month later, the couple travelled to Ruffo’s hometown Perth for what would be their last Christmas together.
The loved up couple celebrated Christmas in Perth, not knowing it would be their last
