Viewers watched Avery Mills and Omar Albakour’s marriage journey. Over time, they became fan favorites.
On social media, fans followed their story. For a long time, they could not live together.
Now, they have fully settled in the United States, beginning their married life together in earnest. But Omar still has a lot of family back home in Syria.
Avery has now shared the tragic news that Omar lost five close relatives in this month’s deadly earthquake.
Early in the morning on Sunday, February 12, Avery Mills took to Instagram to share something heartbreaking.
“With great sadness, Omar lost 5 close family members due to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria,” she began.
“What we originally thought was only 4 now became 5 deaths,” Avery added. “3 of the 5 victims were very young children.”
“Our heart is hurting as well as so many other families in Turkey and Syria,” Avery expressed.
She concluded by writing: “May Allah ease the pain.”
Though Avery did not name the deceased, she did share a carousel of photos. It appears that an entire family of five has now passed.
On February 6, 2023, a powerful earthquake — magnitude 7.8 or more — struck central and southern Turkey and northern and western Syria.
An uncharacteristically powerful aftershock struck hours later, coming in with a magnitude of 7.7.
This was the most devastating earthquake in the region since the 1930s. It destroyed homes; it flattened entire neighborhoods. Ancient structures that withstood centuries of quakes crumbled into rubble.
As of this writing, the estimated death toll is more than 36,000. That number is likely to rise.
Some in hospitals may succumb to injuries. And there are certainly still people buried under rubble who will not survive this horror.
But many thousands died within minutes of the devastating tectonic activity. This is a catastrophic loss of human life. And many survivors find themselves living in abject misery — surrounded by rubble and death.
Viewers got to know Avery and Omar on 90 Day Fiance in 2019.
Avery initially gained criticism from viewers. She is a young woman, and her somewhat recent conversion to Islam had some wondering if she really knew who she was. And some wondered if she truly understood the state of Syria during the ongoing civil war.
Frankly, a lot of the backlash that she received came from a place of bigotry. Avery has discussed this.
But Omar and Avery won over fans with their very genuine love story. Avery proved that she is not the “flake” that some critics had labeled her.
The two are now settled in and living in the US, finally.
Our hearts go out to them and to Omar’s family as they grieve this loss. We mourn the tens of thousands who have perished in this heartbreaking disaster.
Simon Delott
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