90 Day Fiance star Elizabeth Potthast's father, Chuck Potthast, died in November at age 64, and now his cause of death has been revealed.
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According to documents TMZ obtained from the Hillsborough County, Florida Medical Examiner, the blunt impact injuries included facial lacerations and a fractured C6 vertebra.
The report also noted positional asphyxia, a form of suffocation that occurs when a person's body position prevents them from breathing properly, as a factor.
The medical examiner also listed chronic alcohol use, liver cirrhosis, and acute alcohol intoxication as contributing causes, meaning Chuck had a significant amount of alcohol in his system before he fell in the bathtub.
Elizabeth announced her father's death on Instagram on November 23, sharing a family photo and revealing that the tragedy occurred two weeks prior.
"Two weeks ago, tragedy struck our family and it has left us completely shattered," Elizabeth wrote on Instagram.
"My sweet, loving, and caring dad went to heaven. We're trying to figure out how to navigate our lives and move forward without him. Please respect our privacy during this extremely difficult time."
Elizabeth's sister Becky, who has also appeared on 90 Day Fiance, shared her own post honoring their late father on Instagram at the time.
"Two weeks ago on this day my world became distorted into a place I don't understand," Becky wrote.
"My father Chuck went home to be with The Lord. The pain is still more than I can bare so this is all I can write."
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RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOWBased on Becky's post, Chuck appears to have died on November 9.
Chuck had referenced his prior health struggles during his appearances on 90 Day Fiance, including during a discussion of Elizabeth's estrangement from her siblings.
He told Elizabeth at the time, "The Lord didn't save my life to see my family fractured like this," before urging his family to seek therapy to repair their complicated relationship dynamics.
In September 2025, Chuck had shared a health update on Instagram after undergoing an unexpectedly lengthy surgery.
In the posting, Chuck, from his hospital bed, had explained that his procedure -- which was originally scheduled to last three to four hours to fix hernias from previous cancer operations -- ended up taking eight hours.
"Once they got in there, they seen that my stomach wall had completely collapsed, so they had to fix that, which they did," Chuck said in the video.
He had joked about the extended surgery, saying, "The benefit is I have a flat stomach now, which is cool."
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"I wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It really helped me get through it," he said.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
