Duncan and Manigault in May 2012. (Maury Phillips/Getty Images)
She was one of the first true villains of reality TV, terrorizing Season 1 of "The Apprentice" in 2004. But in real life, Omarosa Manigault is the heroine of a tragic love story that hit Hollywood by surprise this week.
When actor Michael Clarke Duncan died on Monday from aftereffects of a July heart attack, his fans, friends, and family immediately expressed their grief to Manigault, who had secretly become engaged to Duncan. The 38-year-old former political adviser was planning a January 2013 wedding to the 54-year-old actor, known best for his role in "The Green Mile" with Tom Hanks.
"I am devastated," Manigault told Radar Online. "He was the love of my life."
See also: Michael Clarke Duncan of 'The Green Mile' fame dies at 54
The two met at a Whole Foods store, after Duncan recognized Manigault from her reality TV fame.
"I was in there one day, and I saw her and I thought to myself, that is a gorgeous woman. She is fine," Duncan told OK! Magazine. The actor apparently teased Manigault for her wicked business tactics, but she couldn't deny the attraction, and the two began a serious relationship in 2010.
"[I like] her personality," Duncan told HollywoodLife that year. "Really! She's very knowledgeable. She's the first woman that I can wake up next to and knows all about politics and what's going on in the world. The world, defense, what's going on with the president's program. Anything and everything. She's very intelligent." Even then, there were thoughts of wedding bells in their future.
See also: Bruce Willis helped Michael Clarke Duncan get his Oscar-calibre role
But all that came to a sudden stop on July 13, when Duncan suffered a heart attack in Los Angeles. By thinking fast and performing CPR on her fiancé, Manigault saved his life. But Duncan still went without oxygen for five minutes and never fully recovered. He died almost two months after the incident while at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.
Radar Online also reports that both public and private memorials are planned for the Oscar-nominated actor. Meanwhile, a grief-stricken Manigault, tissues in hand, looked incredibly distraught as she travelled through Los Angeles International Airport this week.
We feel bad for ever calling Omarosa the Queen of Mean!