Who was Heather Armstrong? Queen of Mommy Bloggers dies by suicide at 47

Heather B. Armstrong, referred to by her fans as Dooce and dubbed the “queen of the mommy bloggers,” has passed away at the age of 48. A Salt Lake City PD representative said that when officers arrived at Heather’s residence on Tuesday night, they discovered her already dead. Unfortunately, early examination revealed that she committed suicide. Any other information has been withheld right now.

Also Read: Heather Armstrong ‘Dooce’ dies by suicide: Boyfriend Pete Ashdown, ex-husband Jon Armstrong, children Leta and Marlo

Who was Heather Armstrong?

Heather Armstrong was a 48-year-old blogger, living in Salt Lake City.

She was among the first successful bloggers to emerge on the internet in the early 2000s. She grew into a revolutionary blogger and began writing openly about her battles with depression, drinking, and parenthood.

In fact, she wrote three books—two about parenting and one about her struggle with depression. Her death was announced on her Instagram page today.

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A post on her social media read, “Heather Brooke Hamilton aka Heather B. Armstrong aka dooce aka love of my life. July 19, 1975 – May 9, 2023.” It continues, “Hold your loved ones close and love everyone else.”

She had been sober for 18 months but recently relapsed, according to her partner Pete Ashdown, who spoke to the Associated Press.

According to a 2019 Vox feature, Heather Armstrong had 8.4 million monthly readers by 2009 and was earning $40,000 per month from banner ads.

She participated in a clinical research at the University of Utah in 2016 after struggling with suicidal depression and discussing her experiences online and underwent three daily minutes-long coma inductions during the three-week study.

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If the treatment ever reached the approval stage is unknown. However, Armstrong wrote about the trial in her novel, The Valedictorian of Death, after it had ended. Her other books include Things I Learned About My Dad In Therapy, Dear Daughter and It Sucked Then I Cried. 

Heather and her ex-husband, Jon Armstrong, divorced in 2013, and they have two children together. Pete Ashdown, her current partner, and she had been dating for almost 6 years.