Diem Brown was laid to rest and remembered by her MTV Challenge costars on Tuesday, Nov. 18, after braving a long battle with cancer.
Brown, who debuted on Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat in 2006 and went on to compete in six additional Challenges, was diagnosed with cancer for a third time this past summer, after previously facing the disease in 2006 and 2012. The third and final time around, the ovarian cancer had spread to the reality star's colon and stomach lining, ultimately leading to her death on Nov. 14 at the age of 32.
Despite her battle with cancer, her costars remember her as always being strong and kind.
"Diem was actually afraid a lot on The Challenge," Evan Starkman told Us Weekly. "Afraid of heights, of taking her wig off, of going into the gauntlet…But she was never afraid of cancer and she kicked its ass for a long time."
Fellow competitor and costar Kenny Santucci told Us: "Since day one, Diem was always a sweetheart! My prayers are with her and her family."
"I have so many wonderful, positive memories of Diem," Mark Long remembered. "I loved her spirit, her positivity, and her never-ending 'fight to live' attitude. She was the type of person that truly could light up a room, and also made everyone in that room feel important and special. She touched so many people in her short time on earth and I will miss her. My heart is heavy today and I hope everyone remembers her spirit, her smile, and never give up attitude. #LoveForDiem."
Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio recalled a special moment with Brown, telling Us: "Diem's playful party-girl persona stretched far beyond the television screen, and she was just as fun-loving in reality as she was on reality TV. Last winter a group of friends took a snowboarding trip to Colorado for her best friend's birthday. On the night of the birthday celebration we bought a massive cake, complete with ornate decorations and mounds upon mounds of frosting. I commented on how amazing the frosting smelled and baited Diem into taking a whiff as well. As she leaned over to take a sniff, I gently shoved the back of her head toward the cake, giving her nose an ever-so-slight dusting of frosting. After all, it would have been a shame to ruin such a culinary masterpiece. Within an instant, like something you’d see out of an episode of The Three Stooges, Diem had scooped up two heaping handfuls of her friend's birthday cake and proceeded to give me a frosting facial. Not one to be outdone, I retaliated with a frosted barrage of my own, and before long the cake was completely destroyed and it ended up everywhere except for our plates. Diem’s energetic spirit and her passion for living every day to the fullest will be sincerely be missed, and this world will be a little less bright without the radiance she exuded."
Brown's funeral was held at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in New York City; she is set to be buried next to her mother, who passed away in 1999.
