Health and fitness influencer Carly Douglas, a married mom of three, has died just three months after tearfully revealing she’d been diagnosed with cancer. She was 36.
The South Carolina mom died on Saturday after being diagnosed in March with stage 4 gastric cancer, her family announced in a heartbreaking Instagram post Wednesday.
“Carly fought cancer with grit and determination; while being full of hope and always pointing anyone who would listen, back to God, the One who held her in the palm of His hand,” the lengthy post said.
“Carly was joy personified, pure sunshine. It felt as though her smile was permanently stitched on her face and her laugh was constantly waiting to bubble out of her. To be known by Carly Faye, was to be loved by Carly Faye,” it continued, adding how “she treasured her children.”
Douglas shared three children – River, Faye and Townes – with her husband David.
A series of photos included in the post showed her beaming widely with her husband and kids.
“We are devastated for us here, without her. The Carly sized hole left in her family and friends’ lives will never be filled. But, we do not grieve without hope,” the emotional post said.
“We know she is whole, complete, and the most joyful radiant version of herself. More than anything, Carly would want everyone who reads this to pursue God and the eternal peace she has now. Carly Faye Douglas is home. Joshua 1:9.”
Douglas – who boasted more than 137,000 followers on Instagram where she posted about her children, health routines and workouts – had revealed in a tearful March video that doctors found a large bleeding tumor on her stomach.
She called the diagnosis “living in a nightmare” and went on to share videos and updates of her chemotherapy treatments and hospital visits.
“I think I’ve walked through every stage of grief possible, but one thing that has never left is just this overwhelming sense of peace that I’m going to be okay and that I’m gonna fight,” Douglas said while donning a hospital gown in the March 24 video.
“I have to for my kids and for so many people I love. I just know that the Lord is going to sustain me every step of the way. I’m so lucky and so appreciative for the village I have. I’m going to beat this.”

Vox Media, the digital publisher that rose in the 2010s with ambitions to build itself up as a modern version of old school magazine titans like Time Inc., has sold off its remaining assets in a deal that winds down an era.
Publishing brands, including food authority Eater, tech destination The Verge, sports network SB Nation, travel brand Thrillist, lifestyle site Popsugar, animal story-focused The Dodo and drinking culture site Punch, were acquired by Penske Media, the companies said on Thursday.
The move formally concludes the multiyear sales process for Vox Media, which had been steered by CEO Jim Bankoff since 2009. On May 20, the exec revealed a sale of crown jewel magazine New York as well as its podcast assets (like Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway) and namesake site, Vox, to Fox empire scion James Murdoch’s venture firm, which Bankoff will join and lead.
Eater, The Verge and the other publishing brands were cleaved off into what was called RemainCo, run by Ryan Pauley, the revenue, strategy and operations-focused executive who has been at Vox Media since 2013. Speculation at the time of Murdoch’s New York buy centered on whether each of the publishing assets would be sold separately or be shopped as whole package. One factor in the dealmaking was a 2023 pact between Penske Media and Vox in which the Jay Penske-run company had taken a stake in the Bankoff-led media firm.
Now those brands, along with Vox’s ad tech products like marketplace Concert and data platform Forte, will join a publishing company that also owns The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Billboard, WWD, Variety, ARTnews, Robb Report and other publications. Pauley will transition to Penske, joining as president of PMX (the newly named unit that will house all the media brands). Penske exec Tom Finn will become COO of the division and Ken Delalcazar will be CFO.
“I am very proud to welcome this tremendous team and leading brands to Penske Media,” said founder and CEO Jay Penske. “We have long admired these unique brands and companies, and I’m thrilled to welcome Ryan Pauley to PMC.”
Pauley added, “Our opportunity now is to steward and grow these brands with a continued focus on brand leadership, editorial strength, audience connection, community, and live events.”
Vox, originally founded in 2005 with a very of-the-moment name of SportsBlogs Inc., launched with SB Nation, a collection of team-specific verticals focused on fan-driven reaction (a typical post: “The offense stunk on Saturday”) that contrasted with the more staid local newspaper coverage in that era. This was around the time when rival, fan-centric sports sites like Bleacher Report were scaling up (BR sold to Turner for a reported $200 million in 2012) and aggregators like The Huffington Post were seen as the next wave of media.
And it was a few years removed from the rise of Millennial-focused media companies like BuzzFeed (sold to local TV station mogul Byron Allen in May), Mashable (sold to media operator Ziff Davis in 2017), Business Insider (sold to German media giant Axel Springer for $450 million in 2015), Mic (sunsetted at Bryan Goldberg’s Bustle Media) and Vice Media (filed for bankruptcy in 2023, then relaunched in pieces). Those outlets had attracted major venture capital dollars in a bet that the transition from linear TV and print would result in consumers flocking to new brands on the open web.
Bankoff’s firm expanded with former Engadget staffers to debut The Verge in 2011 and launched gaming site Polygon the next year (the brand was sold to media firm Valnet in 2025). It made a bet on the Lockhart Steele-founded, real estate-focused Curbed network (which included Eater as well as the since-folded shopping site Racked) in 2013. Then it hired away The Washington Post‘s Wonkblog editor, Ezra Klein, to launch its namesake explainer site Vox a year later (Klein left in 2020 to become a columnist at The New York Times, and also helped usher in another new wave of media: video podcasting).
In 2019, Bankoff made a deal with New York owner Pamela Wasserstein, whose family had owned the glossy magazine for 15 years, to add the publication and digital offshots like entertainment vertical Vulture and fashion brand The Cut to the Vox portfolio. (Now those assets are set to be part of Murdoch’s burgeoning Lupa Systems stable, which also includes Art Basel and the Tribeca Film Festival.) In a bid to scale up in 2022, Vox merged with the Ben Lerer-founded Group Nine Media, which brought The Dodo, PopSugar and Thrillist into the fold, along with video-focused politics site NowThis, which was spun off as an independent site a year later.
Of the deal to acquire the remaining Vox brands, Craig Perreault, president of Penske Media, which also owns festivals like SXSW and stages events like the Golden Globes, stated, “These distinct digital brands bring highly engaged audiences with them, complement our existing portfolio, strengthen our content offering, and expand the possibilities for the hundreds of live events PMX will produce each year.”

Taylor Swift fans were left disappointed after they traveled to Rhode Island hoping to catch a glimpse of the singer’s wedding — only to learn there was no ceremony being held.
The Grammy-winning singer and Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, announced their engagement on social media in August last year. Since then, rumors have circulated about their choice of wedding venue, with many expecting the couple to tie the knot on June 13 in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, where the “Opalite” singer owns a $17.75 million beach house.
That ultimately wasn’t the case, as the couple is reportedly set to tie the knot July 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
However, some die-hard Swifties still made the trip to Rhode Island last weekend, holding onto the slight chance they’d see the “Love Story” singer in her wedding gown.
“I came for her wedding, and she’s not even here,” Ken Meletta, an 87-year-old from New Jersey, told The New York Times, adding that he and his partner visit Watch Hill a few times each summer.
Trish Hipolito from upstate New York also told the publication that she visited Rhode Island last weekend for the rumored nuptials, alongside her sister Karen McCaffrey and McCaffrey’s adult daughters, Tess and Emma. They had even booked their Airbnb months beforehand.
“We had a source,” Hipolito said, referring to a friend of a friend. “Turns out, he’s a liar.”
Last month, numerous sources leaked supposed details about Swift and Kelce’s wedding, including the Madison Square Garden location. Located in Midtown Manhattan above Penn Station, the world famous arena has multiple entrances and exits, which could be a reason why the high-profile couple reportedly chose the venue.
One source told Page Six that “privacy was of number one importance to them both.” The source also suggested that guests would be taken to the arena on blacked-out buses to ensure privacy.
Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared to verify reports that Swift and Kelce are getting married in the city next month.
“We are the biggest city in the country,” Mamdani said at a Monday press conference to discuss the city’s preparedness for the upcoming July 5 World Cup match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“We are used to big events, and we are incredibly excited for this one,” he continued.
“We know it coincides with July 4, America 250, Taylor Swift’s wedding all happening at the same time,” he continued, assuring that he is “fully confident in the work of the NYPD” to provide a “safe experience” over the three-day weekend. However, Mamdani did not reveal the exact location of the wedding.
More than 1,000 guests are reported to have been invited to the nuptials, including Suki Waterhouse, Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid and Ed Sheeran. Swift’s once-close friend model Keleigh Sperry and her actor husband, Miles Teller, however, were reportedly not invited.

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton shared a touching tribute to his fiancée’s close friend who died unexpectedly during his bride-to-be’s lavish bachelorette getaway in St. Bart’s.
The two-time NBA All-Star shared a sweet snap of Makenzi Kern and his future wife, Jade Jones, hugging on his Instagram stories.
“Will always love and miss you Kenz,” he wrote Wednesday, adding, “Forever thankful for you,” with a red heart emoji.
Kern, an Iowa native, died suddenly of undisclosed health complications during the Caribbean getaway on June 8, just two days after her 26th birthday.
Jones also posted a lengthy tribute on Instagram recounting some of her favorite moments with Kern over the years — ranging from “Hannah Montana” dance sessions to countless summers boating.
“I am forever grateful that I got to love someone as truly special as Kenzi, and to have been loved back by her. Kenz was truly a light in this world, and that light will continue to shine in everyone who was lucky enough to know her. I love you forever until the end of time Kenzi,” Jones wrote.
“You are truly so beautiful inside and out & a once-in-a-lifetime kind of friend. Thank you for always showing up for me, for making me laugh until I cry, and for being such an unforgettable part of my life. I’ll always miss you but I know you’ll be with me, wherever I go. ‘See ya’.”
A series of pictures included in the post stretched back to their college days. Jones celebrated Kern as her “biggest cheerleader,” both in life and in her relationship with Haliburton.
“I can’t even imagine our wedding day without her there celebrating with us. The day will not be the same without her, but I know she will show us she is there somehow,” Jones added.
Jones and Haliburton have been together for more than seven years and are set to tie the knot on Aug. 1.
Kern and Jones became fast friends during their time on the Iowa State cheerleading squad. They first crossed paths with Haliburton while he was a guard for the Cyclones.
Her devastated family said she died while “surrounded by her closest friends on a once in a lifetime trip to St. Barthelemy Island,” according to an online obituary.
Kern appeared happy and carefree in photos taken by friends during the first leg of the ill-fated bachelorette bash.
Her loved ones don’t believe foul play, drugs or alcohol contributed to her untimely death, though the exact cause is still unclear.
The circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear.

Jamie Lynn Spears’ daughter Maddie had her last rites read after her near-fatal ATV accident in February 2017.
The “Sweet Magnolias” star, 35, told People on Wednesday that the then-8-year-old, who was in a coma, “physically sit[ting] up in all her restraints and tubes” when the priest arrived at her hospital room.
“I [was] screaming for the doctors, like ‘Come in here now!’” the actress recalled. “Even the priest was like, ‘I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening.’”
Spears continued, “I knew she was in there and felt all of us praying. We were given a miracle, and I don’t take it for granted.”
The “Zoey 101” alum shared more details with the outlet of her eldest child surviving “against all odds.”
She remembered witnessing the ATV Polaris accident, which took place at her husband Jamie Watson’s Louisiana home.
“We were watching her, and we still don’t quite know if she was dodging a dog or what it was,” the former Nickelodeon star said. “She went in the water and me, my father-in-law and my husband ran as fast as we could to go jump in to get her out, but she was stuck.”
Maddie being pulled out of the water by emergency responders minutes later was “really not a sight anybody wants to see,” Spears told the outlet.
“At that point, she was not breathing. We thought that she had passed,” the “Special Forces” alum explained, noting that paramedics ultimately “got a pulse.”
During the little one’s two-day coma, Spears decided to have another baby since Maddie had been “begging for a sibling.”
Sure enough, Maddie asked about expanding the family when she woke up from her coma.
Spears and Watson, 54, conceived daughter Ivey, now 8, a few months later, and the infant arrived in April 2018.
“We always say [Maddie] went up to heaven to go pick out her little sister,” Spears said. “Ivey’s like, ‘So you did all of that to find me?’”
Looking back on the freak accident, Maddie said, “Seeing everybody rally around me, it made me realize how blessed I am. It really made me so grateful for every day.”