“Bachelorette” fans and contestants are mourning the loss of former contestant Michael Nance who was found dead early Monday morning

Emily Maynard's Season

Michael Nance was one of the contestants during Emily Maynard's season of “The Bachelorette,” which aired back in 2012. Michael was sent home by Emily towards the middle of the season. Emily Maynard took to Twitter on Tuesday after learning of the death of Nance. Emily claimed to be “so sad” to wake up to such devastating news about Michael. She paid tribute to the former “Bachelorette” contestant for having a “kind heart” and a great deal of talent.

She also took a moment to send love and prayers to those close to him during this tragic time.

Michael fought with everything he had to win the heart of Maynard during Season 8 of “Bachelorette.” He competed against 25 other men and ended up tying for 11th place.

What happened

According to TMZ, police officers responded after being called to check on an unresponsive male at a residence in Texas a little after 2 a.m. on Monday morning. The unresponsive male was none other than Michael Nance who was pronounced dead shortly after.

The Austin police department does not believe the death of Michael involves anything suspicious. The manner in which the former “Bachelorette” contestant died has yet to be determined by the medical examiner.

Nance, however, was pronounced dead less than an hour after the police arrived.

More about Michael

Nance was native to the Austin, Texas area. He was a very passionate individual who has a job as a rehabilitation counselor. He also had a very creative side-career as a musician. In fact, Michael was exceptionally passionate about introducing other people to his art.

He was also an alum of Texas A&M. He graduated from the school back in the year 2009 with a degree that focused on biomedical science.

A number of members of The Bachelor and Bachelorette Nation took to social media to grieve and pay tribute to Michael Nance. Sean Lowe – who came in third place during Emily’s season and later appeared on Season 17 of “The Bachelor” talked about how broken his heart was over the news.

He talked about how Michael was a very “sweet man” who had a gentle soul.

Tony Pieper – another “Bachelorette” cast member reflected on the creativity of his fallen co-star. He said one of his most cherished memories of Michael was when he played the guitar and sang to the other men in the “Bachelorette” house. Rest in peace Michael Nance.