Darius Danesh’s ex-wife Natasha Henstridge has paid tribute to the late Pop Idol star on the third anniversary of his death, after his girlfriend Lauren Cheek opened up on his tragic passing
Darius Campbell Danesh’s former wife has shared a heartfelt tribute to the late singer on the third anniversary of his tragic passing. The ex-Pop Idol star died unexpectedly aged 41 in August 2022 after inhaling chloroethane – also known as ethyl chloride – at his Minnesota flat.
Three years after the devastating loss, 50-year-old Canadian actress Natasha Henstridge – who initiated divorce proceedings from the Colourblind singer in 2013, following just over two years of marriage – has confessed she continues to grieve for him deeply.
Natasha was well known for starring in the ‘Species’ films and was also in The Whole Nine Yards with Matthew Perry.
Sharing a collection of photographs featuring Darius, including one showing the pair together before the Eiffel Tower in Paris, she wrote on Instagram on August 11: “Love and light always. Miss you today… Sending love to the Danesh’s and everyone whose life he touched.”
At the time of his death, his partner revealed that Darius had been “living with a broken neck” and an undetected cardiac condition at the time of his death, reports the Mirror.
Lauren Cheek disclosed that a post-mortem examination showed his heart was “twice the size” it should have been, and she suspects he turned to the recreational anaesthetic to manage his suffering.
Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, she said: “Darius was living with this heart condition that he didn’t know he had. So many things could have taken him, but this one thing did, and he died in his sleep.
“His mum told me they only found out after they did the autopsy. His heart was twice the size it was supposed to be, which was fitting, because that is genuinely how he was – he had so much love.
“The autopsy also found he was living with a broken neck, but he refused to get help or complain about it. I think he used (chloroethane) because he was in so much pain and he didn’t want to take pills, not even aspirin. That’s what killed him – the substance mixed with his heart and he couldn’t take it.”
Lauren continued, revealing that Darius – who became a household name after his unforgettable performance of Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time on ITV’s Popstars before launching a successful music career and eventually gracing West End stages – had suffered his injuries during a high-speed incident alongside Hollywood star Gerard Butler, consistently “refusing” her pleas to seek medical attention.
She explained: “He was with Gerry (Butler) in Monaco for the Grand Prix and they slammed into a wall during a race with the Prince of Monaco. I don’t think it ever fully healed and then he rebroke it because he got hit by a car in London a year or two before he died when he was riding a bike.
“And then he got into a car accident with his dad in Scotland. D was in the passenger seat, his dad was driving and someone drove into them.
“He was always in pain and I would beg him to see the doctor, but he refused. He was trying to find a natural remedy.”
Declining surgery, Darius had been struggling with chronic neck pain following two devastating car crashes.
The first collision happened in Spain back in 2010, leaving him with a fractured neck and coming just “three millimetres from death”, as he revealed to HELLO! magazine.
The performer had been enjoying a lads’ motoring holiday when disaster struck on a scorching motorway.
“Because of the haze, we didn’t see that there was a diesel spill on the road. Before we could work out what was going on, it was already too late,” he recalled.
“The car careered out of control on a bend, and we smashed into a wall at 70mph. My first recollection is my friend, the driver, asking if I was ok.”
He described remembering a “sharp pain” shooting through his neck before he collapsed.
After the smash, Darius was reportedly offered potentially life-altering surgery on his neck, but the entertainer famously turned down the operation due to fears it might damage his vocal cords.
His agony worsened over time, and a second car crash in 2021 only intensified his suffering.
Rather than opting for surgery, Darius reportedly managed his “severe nerve pain” with cannabis, painkillers, and an anaesthetic substance – the last of which tragically led to him suffering “respiratory arrest”.
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