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Earlier this week, we reported on the sad death of Tracie Wagaman.

The controversial Love After Lockup star was just 41 years old.

Tracie died one week after giving birth, and she openly struggled with addiction throughout her short life.

Fans jumped to the conclusion that both factors contributed to her passing, but now it seems that might not be the case.

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Tracie’s brother is reminding the public that his sister’s cause of death remains undetermined at the moment, and to jump to conclusions is to dishonor her memory.

As reported by The Ashley’s Reality Roundup, Michael Wagaman sat down for an interview with the Sharrell’s World podcast.

He started the conversation by recollecting the night when he received a phone call informing him that his sister had passed away.

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“I got a call from a Vegas number, which I didn’t answer it at first,” he said. 

"The call ended and I called back. It was an investigator. ‘Hi. Are you Mark Wagaman, Tracie Wagaman’s brother?’ I said, ‘Yes ma’am.’ ‘She passed away last night in Vegas.’” 

Mark said he then walked to his mother’s house and broke the news to her.

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“I don’t wish this on anybody,” he said. “The screams – I don’t wish it on anybody. It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever dealt with in my life.” 

Wagaman added that his mother is “not in good shape” at the moment and while she has her moments “when things seem to be getting OK,” it will be “a timely process.” 

As for the controversies surrounding Tracie’s behavior, Mark encourages fans to bear in mind that reality TV is seldom an accurate reflection of reality.

Photo via Instagram

“A lot of it on the show, you know, some of it’s true, yeah, some of it’s scripted, you know,” he said.

“Some stuff I knew was a lie on there, you know, and I just, I didn’t want to do that to myself. I just said, ‘I just want to live my simple life.’ I didn’t want to stress about things I had no control over.” 

At that point, Sharrell asked Mark if he was aware that Tracie had been fired from Love After Lockup “because of her drug problems and not being on time,”

Mark said he “sure didn’t.” 

As for Tracie’s former husband Clint Brady, Mark says there’s plenty of bad blood between the families, noting that his mother has long been at odds with Brady’s.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Yeah, they don’t [get along]. She does not care for that woman, not one bit.” 

Photo via Instagram

Surprisingly, it seems Clint has not contacted the Wagamans in the days since Tracie’s passing.

“Personally I’ve never talked to Clint in my life, or at least on the phone,” Mark said.

“But yeah, I just checked with my mom a couple minutes ago to verify it and no, he has not reached out to her either.” 

Mark added that despite the way she was portrayed on the show, Tracie was a kind, gentle soul who got along well with people from all walks of life.

“If any of her people that are follow her, fans or whoever, just had a minute to spend with her, man, I guarantee you they’d love her, which we’re seeing,” he said.

“I’m seeing a lot of that now. I guess I didn’t even realize how much she was loved," Mark added.

He concluded by reminding viewers that the cause of Tracie’s death remains mystery.

But he also reminded people who have loved ones with substance abuse issues not to delay in helping them get sober.

“I’m telling you, you don’t want to live with these regrets,” he said.

“I know it wasn’t my fault but you know, it comes and goes like I said, the what ifs and it’s, you know, it’s just such a horrible feeling.”

Wagaman added that “nobody knows what’s going on,” and he asked fans to “please stop spreading rumors.” 

“Please stop,” he said.

“It’s not right, you know? How dare you, you know, say stuff about somebody who can’t defend themselves," Wagaman continued.

"As of right now, yeah, our family will defend it and you know, stop – please, please stop.” 

Our thoughts go out to Mark and the rest of Tracie’s loved ones during this difficult time.