30 May 2023 , 12:30
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First Dates star and former Miss Bikini Ireland Judy Fitzgerald has died aged 32.
Tributes have poured in for the TV star - who also worked as a frontline nurse and midwife - following her death on Saturday. She won the title of Miss Bikini Ireland in 2014 and earned her degree in nursing from University College Cork.
Just a year after winning her title, she walked the catwalk at New York Fashion Week while dressed in a red jewelled outfit. After the event, she said that the experience had been a "dream come true".
She passed away unexpectedly, with colleagues and friends rushing to social media to pay tribute to her.
Venera Tabakin, a fashion designer, posted a string of photos of them together and wrote: "RIP Judy Fitzgerald, my little model and friend, Miss Bikini Ireland and Celebrity of Ireland," whilst actress Jenny Dixon, and her husband Tom Neville added: "So so sad to learn of Judy’s passing. She will be missed by all very much. Our sincerest sympathy to the Fitzgerald family and friends."
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Judy had been hoping to find love on the show (Instagram/judyfitzgerald_ / RTÉ2)Friends led tributes online, with one penning: "Rest in peace Judy," whilst another added: "A beautiful soul, may she Rest In Peace". One friend described her as a "kind, beautiful person, a girl that would light up a room with her smile".
The nurse and midwife appeared on an episode of First Dates in Ireland last year. On the show, she went on a date with Aaron, with the pair immediately bonding. As he showered her with compliments, Aaron told Judy he was taken by her beauty and when he spoke to the cameras, he joked there was someone in Ireland that was "prettier than him".
A notice announcing her passing read: "Judy Fitzgerald passed away unexpectedly on 27th May 2023. Sadly missed by her heartbroken parents Liam and Imelda, sister Lucy, brother William, brother-in-law Pedro."
Her funeral mass will take place on Thursday, June 1st in Raheen, with the burial taking place at Castlemungret Cemetery.