Rachel Hollis is opening up about the sudden loss of her ex-husband, Dave Hollis.
In February, the former Disney distribution executive passed away at his Texas home, with a family spokesperson noting that he was hospitalized for "heart issues" prior to his death. And as Rachel—who shared four kids Jackson, Sawyer, Ford and Noah with Dave—explained, their family has been focused on coping in the weeks after the tragedy.
"His death is traumatic and awful," she said in a recent episode of The Rachel Hollis Podcast. "It's just devastating."
The Girl Wash Your Face author went on to share that their family hasn't confirmed his exact cause of death yet, but has since learned more about the state of his health.
"We still honestly don't know what happened," she said. "I found out after the fact that he had gone to the hospital a couple of times because he was having heart problems. So, I think it's really highly possible he had a heart attack, but I don't know and whatever he died from…we're still in the same space, which is just deep grief."
Rachel—who split from the motivational speaker in 2020 after 16 years of marriage—also reflected on seeing Dave the day before his passing at their son's baseball game.
"Talked to him normal," she added. "Didn't think anything weird." As for their kids, Rachel said that they're doing "as well as they can."
"My way of helping them through this is, whatever you are feeling is fair and allowed and real to you," the 40-year-old said. "You are allowed to feel those feelings."
But, as she noted, those emotions will continue to range as time goes on.
"We're sad, we're angry, we're confused and we're all the feelings," Rachel shared. "But we're very strong. We're very close. We're a very tight group. And it's gonna take some time but we are going to be OK."
Rachel shared news of his death on Valentine's Day, writing in an Instagram statement that she had "no words and my heart is too broken to find them."
Dave's girlfriend, Heidi Powell, also penned a heartbreaking tribute on social media, writing in part, "I will spend my life counting down the days until our souls can rejoice and connect once again."