Kelis' Husband, Mike Mora, Dies From Stomach Cancer at 37

“Sadly, it’s true that Mike Mora has passed away," Kelis' manager, Steve Satterhwaite, confirmed in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. "We would ask all to respect Kelis and her family’s privacy as of right now. Thank you.”

Mora first revealed his cancer diagnosis late September 2021, explaining that he had been battling for over a year at that point, with doctors informing him that he only had about 18 months to live. Around the same time Mora and Kelis had welcomed their second child together, Mora recalled first experiencing "the worst pain" in his stomach before it rapidly spread to his back and other parts of his body as well as having no appetite.

"I thought the whole time that I just had an ulcer," Mora wrote in his Instagram post. "With no idea what was about to come my way. Here I was, in a hospital bed, during the middle of the pandemic. All alone.” And while Mora acknowledged that it was too late for him to do anything about his stage four cancer diagnosis, he hoped that by sharing his experience he could “help those that might be experiencing something like this.”

Mora is survived by wife Kelis, whom he married in 2014, and their two children, Shepard and Galillee. Kelis revealed in a Harper's Bazaar feature that the two had recently sold their Los Angeles home in favor of a nearby farm outside of the city in the summer of 2020. “We were proud agriculturists,” Kelis told Roxanne Gay in the profile. “The idea of farm-to-table is not a new, trendy thing. That’s an African concept. We were thriving because we were able to work the land in such a way that it was feeding our people and for generations.” Mora had recently shot the press photo for one of Kelis' most recent singles "Midnight Snacks" earlier this year.

“By showing that it’s possible to make it through,” Mora concluded. “You always see people post about how life is too short. How you should reach out to those you love no matter where life has taken you. It is the truth. Don’t take your time here, your time with friends, family, for granted. Shit can be over just like that!”

Photo via Getty/ Frazer Harrison