I am exactly where I need to be-the only place I can be.'. I'm walking through this cancer journey with her, not only as her friend, but as her partner.

Here is where we stand now: Rayya and I are together. So that truth, once it came to my heart's attention, could not be ignored.For those of you who are doing the math here, and who are wondering if this situation is why my marriage came to an end this spring, the simple answer is yes. Here is the thing about truth: Once you see it, you cannot un-see it. The thought of someday sitting in a hospital room with her, holding her hand and watching her slide away, without ever having let her (or myself!) know the extent of my true feelings for her.well, that thought was unthinkable. And I have no more time for denying that truth. Death-or the prospect of death-has a way of clearing away everything that is not real, and in that space of stark and utter realness, I was faced with this truth: I do not merely love Rayya I am in love with Rayya. In short, she is my PERSON.something happened to my heart and mind in the days and weeks following Rayya's diagnosis. She's my role model, my traveling companion, my most reliable source of light, my fortitude, my most trusted confidante. About Elias, Gilbert wrote: 'She's my best friend, yes, but it's always been bigger than that. Then, in September 2016, Gilbert further revealed (in a Facebook post) that the reason for that marriage's breakup was that she had fallen in love with her best friend of 15 years, Rayya Elias -something Gilbert only realized after Elias was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic and liver cancers.

'I loved you so much, Rayya,' Gilbert wrote of her partner. In July 2016, Elizabeth Gilbert announced the end of her marriage to José Nunes (the man called 'Felipe' in her book 'Eat, Pray, Love' and its movie adaptation). On Thursday, Gilbert wrote a tribute to Elias, who recently passed away, on her social media platforms, according to HuffPost.

Rayya elias elizabeth gilbert