Heather Armstrong leaves behind two kids with ex husband Jon
By Daniel Kim
Blogger Heather Armstrong, better known as Dooce, has sadly passed away at just 47 and leaves behind two kids.
The mother from Salt Lake City was known across the world for her blog on which she wrote about life as a parent and opened up about her struggles with depression and alcoholism.
Her boyfriend Pete Ashdown found her at their Salt Lake City home on Tuesday night and revealed her death in an agonizing statement on Instagram.
“Heather Brooke Hamilton aka Heather B. Armstrong aka dooce aka love of my life. July 19, 1975 – May 9, 2023. It takes an ocean not to break. Hold your loved ones close and love everyone else,” he wrote.
He told AP she sadly died from suicide. Heather had been sober for more than 18 months and recently had a relapse.
Read on to find out more about Dooce’s personal life, including her children…
Heather Armstrong has two kids
Heather has two daughters, Leta, 19, and Marlo, 13, with her ex-husband and business partner Jon Armstrong, who she divorced in 2012.
He was a web developer who she met in college and they got married in 2002 before moving to Salt Lake City to settle down and start a family.
Jon helped her build her blog into a career. She launched it in 2001 and would talk about her life struggles at the time.
When her children arrived, she began writing about the reality of being a parent and became one of the first ever mommy bloggers.
Jon also has three children from a previous marriage who spent time in their Salt Lake home too, Lena and Marlo’s step-siblings.
She often posted about them on Instagram
Dooce’s kids were her life and she always posted pictures of them on Instagram.
In March, she shared a photo from spring break:
Here is Leta when she was born:
The three of them were really close:
Heather praised teachers when Marlo started high school:
And was so proud when she graduated sixth grade:
Here’s another picture of Leta:
She struggled with postnatal depression
After welcoming Leta, Dooce struggled with postnatal depression and voluntarily checked herself into a psychiatric ward.
She wrote about it on her blog, saying: “When Leta was born all these maternal instincts were slammed into the ON position: the instinct to protect, to nourish, to comfort.”
“Six months later and I still can’t turn them off, or even turn them down. These instincts have turned into demons that terrorize me from the moment I get out of bed,” she continued.
If you are affected by any issues raised in the article or would like someone to speak to, please call the Samaritans for free on 116 123. You can also email them at [email protected] or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch in the UK. In the US, please visit Samaritans USA for more information.
You can also contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text 741741 to get in touch with the Crisis Text Line. Americans can now call or text 988 to reach out and speak to a counsellor.
