After marrying her "true love" in a palliative care facility, Natalie Fornasier has passed away.

Australian writer and melanoma awareness advocate Natalie Fornasier has passed away, six months after finding out she was living with terminal cancer.

The 28-year-old's death was confirmed in an obituary shared by the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, where she was remembered as the "Beloved wife of Alexander. Much loved Sister of Alex, loving daughter of Peter and Lorena. Adored daughter-in-law of Kirsten."

"She will be dearly missed by her Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles, Cousins, Natalie’s German family and devoted 'Little Helpers'," it read.

According to the obituary, Natalie passed away on January 14, less than two months after marrying her partner and "true love" Alexander. 

The 28-year-old was first diagnosed with stage III metastatic melanoma in October 2014. 

Soon began an endless sea of appointments, the amputation of a toe (where her cancer had originated), surgery to remove lymph nodes and so much more. 

Even when Natalie was told the cancer had been removed, she knew it could come back. And for a few years, she lived life to the fullest – jetting off to Venice, Italy, to go on exchange. It's there where she met her husband, Alexander, who was travelling to Italy from Germany.

Then at 24, she was seated in her oncologist's office and told the terrible words no one deserves to hear. This time, the cancer was in her lungs, and she was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma in May 2018.

At this point in time, Natalie and Alexander were freshly in love. And navigating her new health prognosis by herself was terrifying enough for Natalie – let alone with someone she had just recently met and fallen in love with.

As Natalie wrote for Mamamia: "I wanted to isolate myself and I wanted to break up with my very new boyfriend. My boyfriend and I had been dating for four and a half months. I knew he was the love of my life, but I didn't want to burden him with this."

Watch 'In Her Shoes: one woman's cancer story'. Post continues below.

But between surgeries, immunotherapy and radiation, they made it work, and Alexander moved from Germany to Australia to be with Natalie. 

In July last year, Alexander and Natalie got engaged. He proposed to her at sunrise, organising her friends to be nearby to celebrate after she said 'yes'. 

It was a beautiful milestone moment to mark their love – a sentiment Natalie reflected on in a post about their relationship. 

"My bones ache every day with the heaviness of my life, but this man – the true love of my life – carries me with so much love I can't help but write about it and pour it all out," she wrote on Instagram at the time.

"I'm so thankful for how we stumbled into each other's lives. But it hasn't been easy. Sure, our love story is magnificent, but sacrifices have had to be made and difficult conversations have had to be had."

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A post shared by Natalie Fornasier (@nataliefornasier)

In December, Natalie shared the news that her cancer had become terminal.

She was told of the prognosis back in July – prompting her and Alexander to take their relationship to the next step a bit quicker than originally anticipated. As Natalie said, that's what cancer does – it throws time in the bin.

"The last four months have been brutal. At the end of July, I received the news that my cancer was now terminal and had months left to live. It's a word I had been skating around for years, a word that terrified me because I always knew it could be a possibility. But it's also a frame of mind I never anticipated I would have to enter," she wrote on Instagram.

Soon after being told the news, Natalie said her mental health was severely impacted, falling into "the deepest hole of depression".

"Every day for the past four months I've cried and screamed. I've fallen into oblivion crying for Alexander, the heartbreak, and the love I would be leaving – for the life we were supposed to have. I've cried for my family. I've cried myself hoarse about the fear of death. I've screamed for the children I would never have, the growing old, my friends, the life I was supposed to live."

In her update, she said that in sharing this news publicly, she wanted to take back control of her own agency.

"My one goal in life was to love. I've experienced a love that is all consuming – something so deeply precious and powerful and soul changing that I know that even though I'm leaving this earth, that energy and love will never die."

In late November, Natalie and Alexander took the opportunity to celebrate that love and married one another with their closest loved ones watching on.

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A post shared by Natalie Fornasier (@nataliefornasier)

Alexander decided to take Natalie's last name, and they said it was "a day filled with love".

"Mr & Mrs Fornasier. Thank you to everyone who made our secret wedding happen a few weeks ago. We may have gotten married in a palliative care facility and not in Italy as once dreamed, but it didn't matter. Love is all that matters. Truly. Just love," she said alongside a gallery of images from their wedding day.

"Alexander and I have grieved together, and he has shared so many ways of how he will keep me in his life, which brings me peace as I face the unknown. But know this, no matter where I am, I'll still be here – in some way."

At the end of her post, Natalie also said her loved ones had put together a GoFundMe to ensure her husband Alexander and her family are able to grieve without financial worry. 

"Your support has always meant the world to me, and I've never been more grateful for my little community, but I need your support more now than ever before," Natalie said.

As she wrote for Mamamia: "If you're reading this and you have cancer: Keep going. Just keep f*cking going. One foot in front of the other. If you're reading this and you don't have cancer, I ask you to spare a thought for those who have been given this set of cards. That if you know someone who has/had cancer, that you ask how they are (and mean it!) and give them a hug.

"If you're not feeling well – go to a doctor. Just do it. Also, get a skin check! Live in a state of appreciation! Life's a gift."

This article was originally published on December 12, 2022 and was updated on January 30, 2023

Natalie was a writer, advocate and ambassador. To support Natalie's loved ones, you can do so by contributing to the GoFundMe here.

For more information on Call Time On Melanoma and sun safety tips, follow them on Instagram. You can also visit Melanoma Institute Australia for more information about melanoma.

Feature Image: Instagram @nataliefornasier.