Joseph-Gosine was supposed to marry her partner of five years, 37-year-old Devon Gosine, later that day. Gosine lives in Trinidad, and they spent the weeks leading up to their nuptuals in the Caribbean nation together with her 10-year-old son, Emari.

Sadly, Joseph-Gosine never made it down the aisle. She died in her sleep in the early hours of her big day.

 

The night before the wedding, Gosine said he and Joseph-Gosine were like many soon-to-be newlyweds, up late at night chatting. A few friends had called them that evening to share well wishes.

Gosine added that Joseph-Gosine had a hard time falling asleep. He thought it was wedding day jitters.

He snuggled with her until she fell asleep. A few hours later, around 2 a.m., he kissed her on her cheeks, which is how he’d always awakened her. But, when she didn’t respond, he knew something was wrong.

Paramedics arrived shortly after that and tried to resuscitate her for 45 minutes.

“It just happened all of a sudden,” the grieving groom-to-be said, according to MyLondon. “At least she didn’t have to suffer.”

Much to her family’s surprise, Joseph-Gosine died of liver disease. They were not aware she was even sick.

Isha Daley, her sister, was aware that she had struggled with liver and kidney issues but was under the impression that was a thing of the past. So the 37-year-old was shocked to learn from medical professionals that her sister’s liver damage would have only given her a few weeks to live, even with medical intervention.

Daley remembers her younger sister as “a mini rebel” that was larger than life.

“She was a very entertaining person,” she shared with MyLondon. “She just wanted to be happy. A little firecracker. She was very beautiful. Absolutely stunning. And she loved life, loved to travel.”

Gosine is taking care of Emari, whose birth father’s whereabouts are unknown, in Trinidad, but Daley is prepared to take Emari in when he returns to London.

Daley and Gosine don’t want Emari to travel back to London alone, so they’re raising money to cover travel costs, which will come to around $1,000.

The late bride’s family is also raising money to have Joseph-Gosine cremated in Trinidad, which will cost around 13,000 Trinidad dollars (about $2,000). Joseph-Gosine canceled her life insurance three months before her death, and she didn’t have travel insurance.

To support Joseph-Gosine’s family, you can do so on their GoFundMe page, which has a £3,000 (about $3,670) goal.