It took months for Tawny Kitaen's cause of death to be released. In the meanwhile, messages of sympathy to her family and friends for their loss poured in. Even her ex-husband, David Coverdale of Whitesnake (above, with Kitaen), took to Twitter to send his condolences, tweeting, "Just woke up to some very sad, unexpected news" (via Variety). Kitaen and Coverdale had met while she appeared in videos for his band, including the hit "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love" (via People magazine). The couple was married from 1989 to 1991 (via WROR).

In October 2021, the results of Kitaen's autopsy were finally made public and the findings were surprising. She died of natural causes. The official cause of death was listed as dilated cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease (via USA Today). Another contributing factor was mild coronary atherosclerosis, also known as coronary artery disease. It was clearly heart problems that led to her untimely death. Several different medications were found in her system, including mirtazapine, an antidepressant, alprazolam, an anti-anxiety sedative, and hydrocodone.

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