Michelle Trachtenberg’s ex, Shawn Ashmore, is mourning the loss of the actress following her sudden death.
Following the sad news Trachtenberg passed away at the age of 39, Ashmore shared a touching tribute on Instagram.
“Incredibly sad to hear about Michelle’s passing. She was an incredible person and I will always remember the years we spent together fondly,” he wrote alongside a throwback photo of himself and Trachtenberg together. “She was loving, quirky and would never pass up a law and order SVU marathon:)”
“My condolences to her mother Lana and sister Irene! This is an incredible loss!” Ashmore concluded.
The Canadian actor dated Trachtenberg from 2004 to 2006. During the press tour for 2005’s Ice Princess, Trachtenberg revealed her relationship with Ashmore while speaking with Blackfilm.
When asked how she “met an X-Man,” referring to Ashmore’s role in 2000’s X-Men, Trachtenberg joked, “Well, I put out an add in the classifieds: Wanted, superhero. I’m a damsel in distress.”
“No, we just met, which is funny, knowing Shawn, he hates anything publicity,” she continued. “He’s so not into that world. We met at an Oscar party and he was just like Mr. Grumpy unhappy to be out in public and I totally approached him. I was the forward one, I take full credit and actually, we’ve been together a year.”
On Wednesday, it was announced that Trachtenberg, best known to film and television audiences for her work in Gossip Girl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Harriet the Spy, had died at 39.
Trachtenberg’s death was first reported by the New York Post, citing police sources, with those sources telling the news outlet her death is not being investigated as suspicious. According to TMZ, she recently underwent a liver transplant and police believe she died of natural causes. Per the outlet, police and paramedics responded to a call for a woman in cardiac arrest, and found Michelle unresponsive. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
While she hasn’t made a public appearance since 2023, she was very active on social media — sharing selfies as recently as two weeks ago.
Some of Trachtenberg’s social media posts raised some concern among fans for her appearance, but the actress responded to those in January 2024, by assuring her fans at the time that she was “happy and healthy.”
“I’ve received several comments recently about my appearance. I have never had plastic surgery I am happy and healthy. Check yourself haters,” she responded to one commenter at the time, while in other comments she reminded her fans, “Realize I’m not 14. I’m 38.”
