The late Mob Wives star Angela “Big Ang” Raiola revealed she has left her husband amid her ongoing cancer battle.
During her appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in February of 2016, the 55-year-old shared how she left her husband Neil Murphy while battling stage 4 brain and lung cancer.
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“I felt like he never stepped up to the plate, so I was done with it,” she admitted to Dr. Oz. “Now, it’s too late. I would rather be by myself. I would rather be alone.”
Her sister, Janine Detore, set up a GoFundMe page to help with Raiola’s doctor’s fees.
“If it wasn’t for them, how would I get through this?” Raiola told Dr. Oz.
Murphy and Raiola had a rocky past. During a July 2012 episode of her show Big Ang, Murphy — who was estranged from, but still married to Raiola at the time — proposed to her again.
The couple reconciled and went on to appear on several reality shows together including Celebrity Wife Swap. In December, Raiola’s throat cancer had returned. In March of 2015, she was first diagnosed with a lemon-sized tumor in her throat.
A week later, she underwent surgery to remove the tumor and all the lymph nodes on the left side of her throat, and then in June, she underwent the same surgery on the right side of her throat.
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And on February 18, 2016, Raiola “passed peacefully surrounded by friends and family,” Jennifer Graziano, executive producer of the VH1 series, said in a statement.
“Her presence brought sheer happiness to anyone that was around her and I am honored to have called her a friend.”
Her death was also announced on her official Twitter account by her friend, Vinnie Medugno. To quote the icon, he shared: “I’m not here for a long time, I’m here for a good time!”
“Everything with you was exactly what those words embodied,” Medungo continued on Instagram. “You lived by your own mantra. I will love you, cherish you, and hold you in my heart wherever I go, and whatever I do. Thank you for being a major part of my life. You’ve taught and brought so much to me. Sleep peacefully, and kiss my grandmother. Goodbye my love!”
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