The 34-year-old actress said farewell to her fiancé when he passed away on Sunday at a hospice center near his family home outside Cork in Ireland, Dec. 13, according to the Daily Mail.
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Dockery, who turned 34 on Tuesday, plays Lady Mary Crawley on the hit costume drama, whose final episode is due to air in Britain on December 25.
A private funeral for Mr Dineen is expected to be held in Cork today.
Dockery released a statement via her publicist in which she thanked fans for their “support and kindness”, and added that she and Dineen’s family “kindly request that they are left to grieve in private”.
Michelle Dockery and John Dineen John Dineen (L) and Michelle Dockery attend the Winter Whites Gala in aid of Centrepoint at Kensington Palace on November 26, 2013 in London, England. We were introduced by [Downton co-star] Allen Leech.
In the series, Dockery’s character was widowed after her beloved husband was killed in a auto accident. Last week, Dockery was in United States for the promotion of Downton Abbey’s final season.
Michelle and John had been dating for the past two-and-half years, but rarely commented on their relationship.
MICHELLE Dockery spent her 34th birthday heartbroken and planning her fiancé’s funeral.
The couple guarded their privacy closely with the actress only briefly referencing the love of her life in an interview over a year ago where she said she had a “wonderful man in my life from Ireland”. With the holidays coming up this month, as well, this has got to be a most hard time for Michelle Dockery. That’s all you need to know’.
Marymount hospice where Dineen died on Sunday morning specialises in palliative cancer treatment.
Dineen was a senior director at London-based FTI consulting firm.
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Ms Dockery is with Mr Dineen’s family and a spokesperson for the actress has appealed for privacy.
