‘Eat, Pray, Love’ Author Elizabeth Gilbert Mourns Death of Partner Rayya Elias

Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert is mourning the death of her partner, Rayya Elias. She was 57.

Gilbert, 48, shared about her loss on social media on Thursday, January 4. “She was my love, my heart, my best friend, my teacher, my rebel, my angel, my protector, my challenger, my partner, my muse, my wizard, my surprise, my gift, my comet, my liberator, my rock star, my completely impossible non-cooperator, my otherworldly visitor, my spiritual portal, and my baby,” she captioned an Instagram picture of Elias playing the guitar.

Dear Ones: Over the last year, Rayya Elias and I have been through some really difficult days together — but not today. Today was precious and perfect. A simple and spontaneous ceremony of love, surrounded by a small handful of friends and family. Our ceremony was nothing legally binding (no need to alert the authorities, folks!)…just a quiet and private celebration of what we have long known to be true: We belong to each other. More difficult days are to come. It doesn’t get easier from here. Her illness is grave. But our love is strong. We will walk together as far as we can go together. After that, it all gets turned over to God. Create beauty with every day you are given, Onward, LG (And thank you, @bindleandkeep, for putting a rush on @rayyaelias’s suit, and for hand-delivering it yesterday. She looked beautiful. Thank you for the grace, the care, and the compassion. You are good people.)

A post shared by Elizabeth Gilbert (@elizabeth_gilbert_writer) on Jun 6, 2017 at 2:17pm PDT

“I loved you so much, Rayya. Thank you for letting me walk with you right to the edge of the river,” she continued. “It has been the greatest honor of my life. I would tell you to rest in peace, but I know that you always found peace boring. May you rest in excitement. I will always love you.”

She was my love, my heart, my best friend, my teacher, my rebel, my angel, my protector, my challenger, my partner, my muse, my wizard, my surprise, my gift, my comet, my liberator, my rock star, my completely impossible non-cooperator, my otherworldly visitor, my spiritual portal, and my baby. I loved you so much, Rayya. Thank you for letting me walk with you right to the edge of the river. It has been the greatest honor of my life. I would tell you to rest in peace, but I know that you always found peace boring. May you rest in excitement. I will always love you.

A post shared by Elizabeth Gilbert (@elizabeth_gilbert_writer) on Jan 4, 2018 at 6:57pm PST

On New Year’s Day, Gilbert shared a photo of the couple embracing in front of a fireplace. She wrote: “Happy New Year, everyone. You made it. We made it. Blessed be. #2018.”

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As previously reported, Elias was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer in spring 2016. That same year, Gilbert ended her nearly 10-year marriage with her husband, José Nunes, to be with her best friend. They had a “ceremony of love” last June.

“Over the last year, Rayya Elias and I have been through some really difficult days together — but not today. Today was precious and perfect. A simple and spontaneous ceremony of love, surrounded by a small handful of friends and family,” Gilbert wrote at the time. “Our ceremony was nothing legally binding (no need to alert the authorities, folks!)…just a quiet and private celebration of what we have long known to be true: We belong to each other.”

She added: “It doesn’t get easier from here. Her illness is grave. We will walk together as far as we can go together. After that, it all gets turned over to God. Create beauty with every day you are given.”