Lisa Robin Kelly’s Estranged Husband: ‘Something Broke Inside Her’

Lisa Robin Kelly’s estranged husband, Robert Joseph Gilliam, has opened about the actress’s death.

“I love Lisa very much. I saw a side to her that no one else got to see,” Gilliam told Celebuzz. “It’s killing me.”

Kelly, who played Laurie Foreman on That ’70s Show, died in her sleep at a rehab facility Wednesday evening. She was 43 years old. While Kelly had a history of substance abuse, officials are calling her death a “mystery.” There were no signs of drugs or alcohol in her room. There were also no signs of physical trauma.

Kelly’s alcohol abuse began in 2003, after she suffered a miscarriage. It resulted in her leaving That ’70s Show after five years, and her character was sent to beauty school. She came back in the fifth season for four episodes, but was replaced with Christina Moore in the sixth season. Kelly told ABC News last year that she “lost everything” after losing her baby.

Since leaving the show, Kelly appeared in two short films in 2005 and 2012. At the time of the ABC News interview, in April 2012, Kelly was three months sober and planning for a comeback.

“I am not running from this,” Kelly said. “I have paid my dues and if I can make it through this I can make it through anything.”

Gilliam said she had been struggling with addiction for a long time, and that she “suffered late stage alcoholism and battled prescription drug addiction.”

Gilliam added, “She was a person who had great talent, lost a baby and there was a marriage break-up. And she lost the show. Something broke inside of her and she couldn’t cope with it.”

Kelly also suffered a string of legal problems, and was arrested at least four times between 2010 and 2013. She was arrested in June for a suspected DUI. In November 2012, she charged with assault after police responded to a disturbance at her and Gilliam’s Mooresville, North Carolina, home. She were released on bond and sentenced to three years probation. Kelly filed for divorce in July.

Gilliam said that Kelly’s addiction to prescription drugs started after she suffered an injury on set.

“It was so serious that she couldn’t drink for a day or two without it turning into pancreatitis,” he said. “She was in a weakened condition and it caught up with her.”

He added, “You can’t abuse your body on and off for 20 years and it not catch up.

An autopsy is being planned to determine Lisa Robin Kelly’s cause of death.