ABC health correspondent Jennifer Ashton made a statement last night regarding her ex-husband Robert Ashton's recent death by suicide. As People reports, the 52-year-old surgeon jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Saturday, February 11. His ex-wife, Jennifer Ashton, is the Chief Women's Health Correspondent for ABC and Good Morning America as well as a regular columnist for Cosmopolitan.
"Our hearts r [sic] broken that the father of my teenage children took his own life yesterday. As an MD he helped so many and we will remember his warmth generosity and kindness," Ashton wrote in a post on Instagram. The post includes a photo of 48-year-old MD with her late husband and their kids. Together, the ex-spouses had two teenage children. Ashton shared the same statement on Facebook and Twitter.
According to the Fort Lee Daily Voice, Ashton was director of thoracic surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. In the past, he was chief of thoracic surgery at the Hackensack University Medical Center as well as director of minimally invasive thoracic surgery at St. Luke's Hospital. The pair reportedly finalized their divorce just two weeks prior to Ashton's death by suicide. Authorities told Daily Voice that Ashton's body was found in Palisades Interstate Park around 8:40 a.m. Saturday morning.
Ashton used the moment to encourage others struggling with depression to speak up. " We hope by sharing some of Rob’s story it will save others the heartache we feel. You are never alone Pls [sic] get help," she wrote. See the full statement, below.
If you are thinking about suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Suicide Crisis Line at 1-800-784-2433.