Kelis‘ husband, a photographer named Mike Mora, is dead at the age of 37. “Sadly, it’s true that Mike Mora has passed away,” a member of Kelis’ management team confirmed to Entertainment Tonight. “We would ask all to respect Kelis and her family’s privacy as of right now. Thank you.” Kelis and Mike married in 2014. They have a six-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter together.
Mike had been battling stomach cancer since Sept. 2020. He and Kelis kept his diagnosis private for a year. It wasn’t until 12 months later that Mike went public with news of his cancer, while also revealing that he had only been given 18 months to live at the time of his diagnosis. “They said 18 months, it’s been exactly 12,” Mike wrote at the time. “Here we go. Scared as f***. The story will continue.”
Days later, he expanded on his situation. “I never thought this could happen to me,” Mike admitted. “At just 36, with 3 kiddos, and a wife that loves me. I want to be able to help those that might be experiencing something like this – a life altering disease full of questions and doubt. By showing that it’s possible to make it through. You always see people post about how life is too short. How you should reach out to those you love no matter where life has taken you. It is the truth. Don’t take your time here, your time with friends, family, for granted.”
In mid-October 2021, Mike revealed that his doctors told him there was nothing else they could do to slow the advance of his disease. “I knew from the look in their faces that it was the worst diagnosis,” Mike shared. “And they were scared for me. I asked how they were going to help me. They said they couldn’t do anything else for me. I had to search on my own for some sort of solution. Scary days.”
Mike’s official disease was called gastric adenocarcinoma. He was diagnosed just weeks after Kelis gave birth to the pair’s daughter. “I thought the whole time that I just had an ulcer,” Mike recalled. “With no idea what was about to come my way. Here I was, in a hospital bed, during the middle of the pandemic. All alone.”