Andrew Jury, an alum of Married at First Sight New Zealand, has died. He was 33. The former reality star’s father Roy Jury told The New Zealand Herald that his son died while he was in custody at the Mt. Eden Corrections Facility in Auckland, New Zealand on Thursday, June 27.
Roy said that his son was scheduled to appear in court just hours before his death. The outlet reported that Andrew was facing active charges, including “assault with intent to injure, willful damage and possession of an offensive weapon.”
Though his cause of death is unclear, Mt. Eden prison manager Dion Paki told the Herald that staff and emergency personnel rushed to save Andrew’s life. After his arrest on April 2, Roy claimed that Andrew had been “struggling” in prison and he was worried about his son’s mental state before his court appearance.
“It should have been a red flag when Andy stopped communicating with family and friends,” Roy told the outlet. “I and Andy’s extended family and friends are deeply saddened and bewildered by this distressing event.”
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Warner Bros. Discovery reacted to the news of Andrew’s sudden passing. “Warner Bros. Discovery expresses our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Andrew Jury,” an spokesperson for the company’s Australian and New Zealand division wrote.
Andrew appeared on Married at First Sight New Zealand in 2017 and was matched with Vicky Gleeson-Stokes. Though they made it down the aisle, the former couple struggled to make things work and eventually parted ways after the finale.
Shortly after the news, Andrew’s former MAFS New Zealand costars paid tribute in a joint post shared to Instagram, according to the Herald.
“It’s with the heaviest hearts we’ve come together to acknowledge the passing of Andrew Jury,” they wrote. “We had the absolute pleasure of filming and participating in a show which leaves us intricately linked for a lifetime.”
“Despite his struggles, Andrew was always friendly and the life of the party during our shared experience and he really valued his time on the show,” they said, before concluding, “At this time our entire cast wish to send our deepest condolences and love to his family – Ben, Angel, Brett, Vicky, Haydn, Lacey, Claire, Dom, Aaron, Luke, Belinda.”
A spokesperson for Warner Bros Discovery New Zealand, which produces the marriage reality series for its Three network, also addressed the sad news, telling Deadline in a statement: “Warner Bros Discovery expresses our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Andrew Jury.”
“WBD takes duty of care extremely seriously and has protocols in place regarding the wellbeing of cast and crew. All MAFS NZ contributors have access to mental health professionals throughout the process, including pre-screening, during production and after broadcast.”