‘Forever missing you’: Tahnee Sims pays heartfelt birthday tribute to the late Johnny Ruffo

In honour of what would have been Johnny Ruffo’s 36th birthday, Tahnee Sims, the loving partner of the late Home and Away star, shared a heartfelt tribute featuring a touching message and a sweet throwback photo.

Ruffo passed away at the age of 35 on Friday, November 10, 2023 after a long battle with brain cancer, triggering an outpouring of grief from fans and those close to him.

On Friday, March 8 Sims took to Instagram to share a touching throwback photo of Ruffo, capturing a happier time as he enjoyed an ice cream.

“Happy birthday angel boy,” she wrote alongside the photo.

“Forever missing you & that cheeky grin.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tahnee Sims (@tahneesims)

The post quickly garnered messages of support and love from fans, who flooded the comments section with their own heartfelt birthday wishes for the late actor.

“Love you darling girl and a big Happy Birthday to Johnny!!” one wrote.

“Unfortunately there are still no adequate words for your tremendous loss.”

“Happy heavenly birthday Johnny,” commented another.

“Sending all my love to you on John’s birthday, Tahnee. I’ll be raising a glass (or two) in his memory tonight.”

Earlier this year Sims reflected on 2023 and the loss of her beloved partner in a touching tribute that captured both the highlights of the year and the special moments shared with the late Ruffo.

“Hard to put this year into words… experienced some incredible highs & was absolutely shattered with the lowest of lows,” she began.

“In two minds of entering a new year, a part of me is welcoming of a fresh year and the other part can’t stand the thought of going into it without J.

“It’s hard to fathom your life & look forwards without your person that has been beside you for so many years – even though we knew we were on borrowed time, we still always held out hope.

“My hope now going into the new year is to be able to carry Johns zest for life through with me, cherish every moment & live life to the fullest just as he so badly wanted to.

“Here’s to 2024, please be kind.”

Ruffo’s tragic health battle began when he was first diagnosed with brain cancer back in 2017 when what he believed to be a migraine turned out to be a very serious brain tumour.

Speaking with Who Magazine’s podcast Who Are You back in 2018, Ruffo recalled the terrifying ordeal, revealing that his girlfriend saved his life by rushing him to the hospital after he complained of a painful migraine.

She received devastating news the next morning after doctors revealed that Ruffo had slipped into a coma due to a fist-sized tumour in his brain, which may have been growing for up to 10 years.

“The doctor said, ‘If you didn’t come in [to the hospital], you would have gone to sleep and you would have been dead’,” Ruffo said at the time.

“Basically [the tumour was] the size of my fist in my frontal lobe, so all that pressure was being put on my brain, which explains the severe headaches and blackouts.”

After successfully removing the tumour in 2017, Ruffo devastated fans when he penned a heartbreaking post announcing his brain cancer had returned in 2020.

Ruffo regularly kept fans updated with his health battle via social media, providing them with insights on his second bout with brain cancer.