Twin brothers Billy Smith and Joe Smith, stars of the British TLC reality show My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, were found dead on Saturday in England. They were 32.
The causes of their deaths were not made public. Their bodies were found by a country road near a farm in rural Sevenoaks, Kent, reports said on Sunday. They are believed to have taken their own lives in a joint suicide, The Sun quoted sources as saying.
“Two twin boys, two good-looking boys. God bless their souls,” co-star Paddy Doherty said in a video posted on Facebook. “That’s a terrible terrible tragedy. Pray for the boys’ family, the boys’ mother and father, help them be strong and get through this.”
“I’m very, very sorry for your troubles,” he continued. “Anyone watching this please say a prayer for those left behind. May God look after them. They are two angels. They’re in the kingdom of Heaven, walking on gold.”
Billy’s partner, Kristina Davey, wrote on social media, “Hardest day of my life. RIP my perfect Bill, you were so pure so lovely. You made me the happiest girl – did everything for me, showed me love I never had. You always see stuff like this but you just never think it’ll happen to you,” according to The Mirror.
“I can’t believe I have to type this together struggling to speak never mind put a sentence together,” she continued. “I’m gonna make you so so proud my Bill, my life, my angel.”
Kent resident Jane Chippendale told The Mirror that Bill and Joe, the father of a young son and daughter, worked for their uncle’s landscaping company and had recently stayed at her house for almost two months because there was no room at a local B&B. She said she last saw them a month ago when they moved out, telling her they were going to live at an aunt’s house, shortly after they returned from a trip to Thailand, the newspaper reported.
“They were like sons when they were here,” she said.
“They were so identical. It was hard to tell them apart,” she added. “I can still see them smiling in front of me.”
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding originally titled Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, first aired on the U.K.’s Channel 4 broadcast network in 2010 and on the U.S.’s TLC cable channel in 2011, and ended its run in 2015. It followed the lives of Irish Travellers, who are recognized as distinct ethnic groups under U.K. law. On the show, Billy and Joe were in their early 20s and worked as gardeners.
TLC later launched a spinoff featuring American Roma, My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding.