Chris 'CT' Tamburello proposed to Diem Brown days before her death, report says

The on-again, off-again boyfriend of the late reality-TV star Diem Brown proposed to her twice shortly before her death from cancer.

Us Weekly said Tuesday that Chris "CT" Tamburello, with whom she fell in love while competing on MTV's "Real World/Road Rules Challenge," in 2006, proposed in her hospital room at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan five days before her Nov. 14 death. The magazine said he presented her with a ruby ring and brought a GoPro video camera to shoot the event.

Brown, 34, joked that she hated rubies and told him no. Tamburello returned the next day with a new ring and proposed again, Us said, but Brown again turned him down.

An MTV representative had no comment on the proposals, but said, "We are airing a special on Diem." The tribute, "We <3 Diem," will run Dec. 9 at 9 p.m.

"Since debuting on MTV's 'The Challenge' in 2006 and battling cancer three times in the public eye, Diem Brown has become a role model for her courage and positivity to thousands of fans," the network said in a statement.

Brown had gained fame as an ovarian cancer-stricken contender on what was then called "Real World/Road Rules Challenge," starring on seven seasons of it and its successor show, "The Challenge." Her cancer went into remission, but returned in 2012. Early the next year, she reported that chemotherapy had apparently worked and she appeared to be cancer free.

But in August this year, she was diagnosed with colon cancer.

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