Mary Kay LeTourneau, who made global headlines for her relationship with a former student, has passed away aged 58.
The former teacher became known to the masses after she had an affair with student Vili Fualaau back in 1997 when she was 34 and he was 12.
The pair were later married, and had two daughters together.
According to a report from PEOPLE, Mary died of Stage 4 cancer after her health deteriorated dramatically over the last few months.
“It was a very sad ending,” a source told the publication.
Mary’s attorney, David Gehrke told KOMO-TV: “It was expected but sad anyway.”
“She was a good person,” he added.
Mary Kay LeTourneau, pictured centre right, has passed away aged 58.
Mary and Vili began an illegal relationship when he was one of her students at the school she taught at in the 90s.
She was later sentenced to seven years in prison for child rape, and became pregnant to his children twice before he was 15.
When Mary was released from prison, Vili was an adult, and the restraining order previously enforced between the two was dropped after he petitioned for it.
Mary and her student embarked on a relationship when he was 12 years old.
The pair’s first daughter, Audrey was born while her mum was out on bail in 1997.
They later welcomed Georgia, who was born in 1998 while Mary was in prison.
Mary and Vili chatted to Barbara Walters about their controversial relationship in 2015, and confessed that it had been impacted by all the media attention.
“I don’t know if enough time will ever pass where it will take away what the media did to our story,” Mary said.
“Because it was so big, and they ran with it so fast. There’s a story of us that has a life of its own, but it’s not our story.”
The family of four remained close.
Despite remaining strong for many years, the pair eventually divorced in 2017, with Fualaau filing for legal separation after 12 years of marriage.
Vili said he filed for divorce because of a new business venture, which was reportedly to become a distributor for Cigaweed marijuana cigarettes, requiring a license for the feat.
“It’s not necessarily what you think,” he told Radar Online previously. “Everything is fine between us.”
According to PEOPLE, their separation was confirmed late last year. It is understood they lived apart since it was made official.
WATCH: Mary Kay Letourneau talks about falling in love with her student:
