'Downton Abbey' actress Michelle Dockery's fiance dies of cancer

"Downton Abbey" actress Michelle Dockery's fiance John Dineen has died of a rare form of cancer. He was 34.

The commercial public relations executive died on Sunday at the Marymount Hospice in Cork, with Dockery at his bedside, reported People magazine.

In a statement released through her publicist, Dockery, 34, thanked the public for the "support and kindness" the family has received, before adding that she "kindly request that they are left to grieve in private." Dineen, from Cork, Ireland, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer earlier this year.

A senior director at London-based FTI consulting, he is believed to have returned home to Ireland and sought pioneering treatment in Germany following his diagnosis, reports the Irish Independent. The couple started dating in September 2013 after being introduced by "Downton" co-star Allen Leech.