gia-allemand-dies.jpgKevin Foley/ABC


UPDATE:
Bachelor star Gia Allemand, 29, has died of an apparent suicide, reports People magazine.

The family said in a statement on Wednesday:

    "Due to a critical loss of brain and organ function, life support was withdrawn. Ms. Allemand passed away peacefully with her mother, boyfriend, and other lifelong friends by her side. As a practicing Christian, Gia did receive the sacrament of last rites. Loved ones and fans will remember Gia Allemand as a caring woman who loved her family and was well-known for her compassion towards animals and mission to rescue homeless pets."


In a shocking turn of events, Gia Allemand has passed away in a New Orleans hospital on Wednesday. On Tuesday, The Bachelor star checked into the hospital for "“serious medical emergency” and was initially in critical condition.

Allemand was heavily featured on the 14th season of "The Bachelor," also starring Jake Pavelka. After being rejected by Pavelka, Allemand broke hearts on the Bachelor Pad in 2011.

Vienna Girardi, who won Pavelka's season of The Bachelor , tweeted on Wednesday, "Gia you are my angel! You changed so many lives with your beautiful soul and will be missed and loved forever."

At the time of her death she was surrounded by her mother, her pastor and boyfriend Ryan Anderson, an NBA player with the New Orleans Pelicans.

On Tuesday, her rep told Radar that the 29-year-old was “taken to University Hospital, New Orleans last night following a serious emergency medical event,” and that the details of the medical emergency were “currently not known.”

On Monday night ABC released a statement saying, "On behalf of the family, we kindly ask for privacy at this time."