Woman Had the Wedding of Her Dreams. Then Her Husband Died from a Rare Disease He Contracted While Swimming on Honeymoon

Elizabeth Diamond’s newlywed happiness didn’t last long. Just weeks after marrying her husband, Chris, he became seriously ill during their honeymoon and later died.

Elizabeth, 51, told The Sun that the couple celebrated what she described as a “beautiful” wedding in November 2017. During their vows, they promised to love one another “in sickness and health, till death do us part” — words that, she said, would soon take on a devastating meaning.

A Romantic Trip — and a Sudden Decline

After the wedding, the newlyweds traveled to Jamaica for a weeklong honeymoon filled with horseback riding and long walks on the beach.

“It was so romantic, and I couldn’t believe how happy I felt,” Elizabeth said. “Finally, I’d found the man of my dreams, and I was never going to let him go.”

On the final day of the trip, they visited a waterfall. Elizabeth recalled noticing right away that the water looked nothing like what she had imagined.

“I’d seen photos of the turquoise water, but when we arrived, it was all murky and brown — not at all like the paradise I’d been expecting,” she told The Sun. Still, she said she tried to enjoy the last moments of their honeymoon.

Even so, Chris jumped in to swim. The next day, he developed symptoms they assumed were a stomach bug.

“At first, the nausea and diarrhea didn’t worry me too much, but he couldn’t shake it off,” she said. A week later, she grew alarmed when he texted her from work, saying he was still sick and leaving early — something she said was completely unlike him.

Chris believed it would pass, but his condition only worsened. Two weeks after returning home, Elizabeth said he woke up with yellowing skin and eyes.

“I told him, ‘We need to get you to the hospital right away,’” she recalled.

Doctors Had No Clear Explanation

At the hospital, doctors determined Chris had jaundice — and that both his kidneys and liver had shut down.

“What made this news even scarier was the fact that they had no idea why,” Elizabeth said.

Fearing his illness might be connected to their trip, Elizabeth searched online for health warnings related to Jamaica. She said she came across multiple reports about leptospirosis, an illness caused by Leptospira bacteria that can be present in water or soil contaminated by animal urine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Without treatment, leptospirosis in people can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, trouble breathing and even death, the CDC states.

Doctors ultimately diagnosed Chris with Weil’s disease, a severe and acute form of leptospirosis.

“There were reports of [leptospirosis] all across Jamaica,” Elizabeth told The Sun. “In a flash, I thought of the waterfall, how Chris had jumped right into that brown, murky pool. My breath caught in my throat.”

“I’m Not Ready to Die”

Chris was treated in the hospital with doxycycline, but Elizabeth said his condition continued to deteriorate.

“At first, still able to speak, he’d grip my hand and say, ‘I’m not ready to die,’” she recalled. By the next day, he was placed on a ventilator and could only communicate using alphabet cards.

Soon after, Chris was put into a medically induced coma. Elizabeth stayed by his side, decorating the hospital room with photos from their wedding and family memories.

Eventually, doctors told her Chris was brain-dead and there was nothing more they could do.

“It was like being trapped in a waking nightmare,” she said. “Just weeks before, we’d been newlyweds. How could this be happening?”

A Final Goodbye, 50 Days After the Wedding

Elizabeth said that the following morning — 50 days after their wedding — she said goodbye.

“I climbed into the bed, curled up into Chris’ arms and whispered, ‘I love you’. Then his life support was turned off, and he was gone,” she said.

“I’d met my soulmate, and he was gone.”

Not long after, she said she received mail containing both her marriage certificate and Chris’ death certificate — and “collapsed in uncontrollable sobs.”

Finding Life After Loss

Elizabeth said she leaned on friends and family as she navigated grief. Though she never expected to find love again, she created an online dating profile in October 2022 as a joke, she said, hoping to tease her son.

She received several replies, including one from a man named Kim. After texting and talking by phone, they met for a first date. The two later married in June 2024.

Elizabeth said she felt in her heart that Chris would have wanted her to find happiness again — and that he was “there in spirit, wanting me to be happy and loved again.”

Now, she’s sharing her story in the hope it might help someone else enduring unimaginable loss.

“I want people to know that in grief you can find a strength you never imagined, and that joy and love are always possible,” she told The Sun.