The tragic news was confirmed by the management team for singer Kelis, 42, who has been married to photographer Mora since 2014.
“Sadly, it’s true that Mike Mora has passed away,” Steve Satterthwaite, of Red Light Management, told Entertainment Tonight. “We would ask all to respect Kelis and her family’s privacy as of right now. Thank you.”
In recent months, Mora had documented his cancer battle in a series of heart-wrenching Instagram posts, as he revealed that he had been diagnosed with the disease in 2020.
Back in September, Mora recounted how his journey with the illness began when he experienced “the worst pain” in his stomach shortly after he and his family moved onto a farm outside Los Angeles.
At the time, Kelis had recently given birth to their now 18-month-old daughter. They are also parents to son Shepherd, 6. Kelis shares son Knight, 12, with her ex-husband Nas.
“Loss of appetite. Pain in my back also started to creep in,” Mora recalled of his symptoms—which he initially believed had been caused an ulcer—further explaining that he “finally decided to do something about it. It was a bit late. But just in time.”
He went to see three specialists and underwent an endoscopic biopsy before he was diagnosed with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma.
Revealing his prognosis at the time, he wrote: “They said 18 months. It’s been exactly 12. Here we go.. Scared as F¥#% … The story will continue.. Love you @kelis.”
At the time, he also posted a photo of an intravenous drip in his arm, as he said that he hoped to help others in similar situations.
He wrote: “I am posting this…after so much thought. Many hours thinking of what the right thing to do is. Not because of a selfish reason. not because I want people to feel bad or sorry for me and my family.
“I am posting this because life is full of the most unexpected situations. I never thought this could happen to me. 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—maybe, hopefully.
“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. S*** can be over just like that!”
Just two weeks later, Mora would reveal that doctors treating him said they “couldn’t do anything else” for him.
He wrote: “So the morning of my last UCLA hospital stay, doctors came in my room and gave me the most horrifying, unexpected news.
“I did not understand the language written on this paper. All I knew from the look in their faces was that it wasn’t a good diagnosis. It was the worst diagnosis. And they were scared for me.”
He went on: “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 for some sort of solution.. Scary days.”
“The story will continue. Love you @kelis,” he concluded his heart-wrenching post.
In the months that followed his revealing post, Mora declined to share further updates on his cancer battle. Instead, his final three posts included two photos of the animals on his farm, and a striking black-and-white image of his wife. His last post was on January 22.
Kelis, born Kelis Rogers, has not publicly addressed her husband’s cancer battle on Instagram.
