YouTuber Billy LeBlanc’s partner dies after eating raw oysters and contracting infection

YouTuber Billy Le Blanc's partner Natalie Clark contracted a bacterial infection and died after eating raw oysters. Photo / Instagram @justbillyleblanc

A US-based YouTuber and his girlfriend contracted a rare bacterial infection after they ate raw oysters. It ended in his partner’s death.

American YouTube star Billy LeBlanc - a member of the LeBlanc family who posted on the once-popular Bratayley family channel - has revealed that his partner Natalie Clark died after eating raw shellfish.

LeBlanc, 44, said the couple had eaten raw oysters together and contracted a rare but serious infection of the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus.

The content creator took to Instagram on Tuesday to announce the death of Clark, telling followers that he spent 12 days in hospital and “almost died” from the infection.

“Unfortunately, Natalie didn’t make it and she passed away,” LeBlanc wrote in the post.

“I will always remember how we got lost everywhere together. I will always love her and miss her.

“Be safe and hold your loved ones tight you, never know when it’ll be the last time you see them.”

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A post shared by Billy LeBlanc (@justbillyleblanc)

LeBlanc later shared a video reiterating that Clark’s death did happen and that he wasn’t trying to “get somebody to follow me” by talking about it.

“We ate oysters and we both felt sick for a couple of days,” LeBlanc explained. “Then I woke up and she was gone.”

LeBlanc told his followers he “spent 12 days in the hospital and 8 days in the ICU” fighting off the bacterial infection.

“I don’t remember much of it [and] I was pretty out of it most of the time.”

Thanking his followers for their “love and support”, LeBlanc said he was “trying to figure my life out now and what’s next for me”.

Clark is survived by her 17-year-old son, Julian Clark.

Vibrio vulnificus is a type of bacteria that can sometimes be found in raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly in oysters. Symptoms tend to quickly appear after infection, which “can be fatal if left untreated”, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Vibrio bacteria live naturally around warm coastal waters. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says since “oysters feed by filtering water, vibrio can concentrate inside” oyster tissue.

About 150-200 cases of V. vulnificus infection are reported each year in the United States.

Yvette Berthelot LeBlanc (LeBlanc’s mother) made an impassioned plea for support on July 7, writing on Facebook that the “past two weeks [has been] a very hard time”.

“Natalie lost her life and Billy was very close to death [and he was] in ICU for 8 days. Please continue to pray for Natalie’s son Julian for her family and for Billy, both for his health and his heart,” she wrote.

It’s not the first loss for LeBlanc and his family in recent years.

The content creator rose to fame through the once-popular YouTube family channel Bratayley, which has over 7 million subscribers. He and his ex-wife Katie LeBlanc posted vlogs of their day-to-day lives with kids Annie, Hayley and Caleb, reported People.

Caleb died in October 2015 of “natural causes”, which the family later confirmed to ABC News was due to an undetected heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

They took a break from posting to their channel but returned in the following years. However, the LeBlancs separated in 2019 and the Bratayley channel has been inactive ever since.

After they separated, LeBlanc began a new YouTube channel called Just Billy LeBlanc and continued to post videos of his life with Annie and Hayley.

Clark was introduced to LeBlanc’s followers through the channel in 2020 and regularly featured in his content.