Warning: This article references domestic violence. Reader discretion is advised.
Jason Hitch and Cassia Tavares on 90 Day Fiancé season 2 were a quintessential couple dynamic for the show: an American man pursuing a South American woman several years his junior. Naturally, their cultural differences resulted in an entertaining drama when they spent more time together ahead of their planned nuptials.
Although Jason Hitch’s time on the series was typical 90 Day Fiancé fodder, the years following his time on the series have been tumultuous and ultimately tragic for the former reality star and military veteran, despite the seemingly happy note his respective story arc ended on.
Jason’s journey on 90 Day Fiancé
Jason and Cassia appeared on the second season of 90 Day Fiancé in 2014. Jason, who lives in Florida, met Brazillian native Cassia online – although she was originally dating a friend of Jason’s first. At 38 and 23 years old, Jason was closer to twice Cassia’s age than her actual age, but these obstacles weren’t enough to stop the pair from getting engaged and for Cassia to have a temporary three-month residency under the K-1 “fiancé” visa.
When Cassia arrived in the U.S., the Brazillian was taken aback by how frugally the former veteran lived, and was reluctant to buy simple things such as furniture, groceries, and homeware – which made moving in together and planning a future life all the more difficult. This certainly wasn’t helped by the fact Jason’s father also lived with the couple and Jason dissuaded Cassia from wearing revealing clothing on the beach, which he regarded as too “Brazilian” for Florida.
Despite their differences, the pair were married by the end of their time on the reality series, and started a mail-order cookie business together. In spirit with his frugality when it came to furniture, Jason sold furniture secondhand online in his own business venture.
Jason’s divorce from Cassia and death, explained
In January of 2017, Jason was arrested for domestic battery against Cassia. Although the charges were later dropped at Cassia’s request, Jason was given a month-long no-contact order from his wife, and Cassia subsequently filed for divorce. While the couple briefly reconciled, the couple announced that they had split and were continuing with divorce proceedings a year later – although the former couple continued to live together for some time.
After a battle with COVID-19, Jason Hitch died on Dec. 14th, 2021 at the age of 45. The Florida native was 45 years old, and had been hospitalized and placed on a ventilator as his condition rapidly deteriorated.
Speaking to TMZ, Jason’s sister, Shannon Speagle, stated that Hitch was unvaccinated at the time of his death, and had no known pre-existing health condition. Shannon also said that her late brother had refused to be vaccinated, and wanted his death to encourage the unvaccinated to change their mind about immunization against the virus.
On Instagram stories, Cassia paid tribute to her ex-husband, writing at the time “It’s always sad when someone you spent part of your life with stops breathing. I guess one could never be prepared for that. I wasn’t, today.
“When I started receiving messages, I thought it was a joke. I’m shocked. My condolences to his family and friends. Rest In Peace, Jason.”
Cassia was involved in a feud with another former 90 Day Fiancé star, Nicole Nafziger, for using Jason’s death for clickbait purposes. Nicole had used an image of herself crying, captioned “#RIP Heartbroken to confirm he DIED 💔 #LinkInBio,” linking to an article about Jason’s death.
“I get all of that ‘link in bio’ BS but trying to make money off someone’s death is a new kind of low,” Tavares wrote on her Instagram story (as documented by In Touch Weekly) tagging Nicole. “It hurts me that I have to bring it up like this, but someone needed to tell you in public. JUST STOP.” Nafziger later apologized and deleted the post.
Cassia Tavares’ name is often spelled as Cassia or Cássia. For the sake of clarity, this article uses Cassia only, as this is the spelling used on both 90 Day Fiancé and on Tavares’ social media channels.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233), or text “START” to 88788 for safe, confidential support.
