‘X Factor’ Star Freddie Combs Passes Away at 49

Freddie Combs, a singer, reality TV star, and licensed minister who famously appeared on Season 2 of “The X Factor,” has passed away at the age of 49.

On Thursday, Freddie’s wife Katrina “Kay” Combs revealed to TMZ that her husband tragically died last Friday at a Florida hospital from kidney failure. Kay adds that he was surrounded by friends and family at the time of his passing.

Kay also told People that her last few days with Freddie “were hard” amid his hospitalization.

During that time, Freddie and Kay “had discussed plans” to fulfill the singer’s final wishes, which included having his eyes and corneas donated.

“The day before he was passing, I knew that it was coming. I mean, that’s the day I had appointments [with the] palliative doctor and they were going to be giving me some hard news. So I knew that it was going to be rough,” Kay told People.

“I couldn’t spend the night with him because of the COVID restriction and that type of thing, but I woke up that [next] morning full of so much gratitude.”

She continued, “I was chosen and blessed to be his wife, best friend, caregiver [and] partner in ministry for 25 years. A lot of people don’t get that. And then to have so much of our life online, that will forever be there. Who else had their very own singer-comedian-songwriter?”

Though Freddie had struggled with his weight his entire life, Kay said Freddie vigilantly worked on his health over the past 11 years — and got all the way down to 385 lbs. from 900 lbs.

“And I can tell you, I have never been more proud of somebody,” Kay told People. “Ultimately, the battle with the weight and the fluid over the years contributed to kidney damage and then ultimately kidney failure.”

During his time on “The X Factor,” Freddie wowed audiences with his rendition of Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings.”

Judges Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid promised to back him if he vowed to get healthy, and Freddie agreed to do so. Sadly, Freddie was eliminated soon after.

Freddie also appeared on the TLC series “Ton of Love” and “Heavily Ever After.”

With regard to his fans, Kay said Freddie made them “feel like you were his best friend and what you were saying really meant something.”

“He was the type of person where it didn’t matter where we were, we still would get recognized for being on ‘X Factor.’ We had done a couple shows with TLC before ‘X Factor,’ so folks knew that he was losing weight,” she said. “And then when they saw him and was like, ‘Oh, my goodness. You look so good,’ he would talk to them like they were the only person in the world for those few minutes.”

Overall, Kay said “all [Freddie] wanted” in life was to make others happy.

“I can’t tell you the number of times he said, ‘When I come to the end of my life, I want to be used up. I don’t want to not touch people. I want every bit of my energy to have gone to touching somebody’s life,’” Kay added.

On Thursday, Freddie’s sister Carolyn “Carrie” Rife created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for medical, funeral, and future expenses.

She added that a celebration of life service will be held at The Pentecostals of Cocoa in Cocoa, Florida.

As of this writing, the page has raised over $1K out of its $5K goal.