Cause of death of common-law partner Jocelyn Wildenstein revealed

The iconic headline-making figure, known for her extensive facial surgery that gave her cat-like features, died in her sleep on New Year's Eve aged 84.

According to her longtime partner Lloyd Klein, Wildenstein was set to ring in 2025 and was in what appeared to be “perfect” health days before.

Just a day after Wildenstein's sudden passing, Klein provided insight into his beloved's final hours.

“We had a nice happy hour that night,” the noted fashion designer said, “and we were getting ready for the new year and took a little nap before getting dressed to look good.”

Klein says he woke up first, then tried to shake Wildenstein awake to no avail.

“I said, 'Jocelyn, we've got to wake up, we've got to get dressed,'” he recalls, “and she was cold and dead.”

According to Klein, the situation was made all the more heartbreaking by the fact that Wildenstein had been in “perfect” health just days before.

“We were at the Ritz two days ago. We had dinner,” he explained.

“Before that, we had come to Chanel fashion week. Everything was fine, everything was fine.”

Per Klein, Wildenstein suffered from a condition known as phlebitis, which causes inflammation of the veins due to damage to the vein walls or blood clots that block flow.

Wildenstein's grandmother also reportedly suffered from the disease.

Klein claimed that the diagnosis greatly affected his partner's legs, causing them to swell and become blocked by a pulmonary embolism.

“Because of her phlebitis, (her) legs were very, very swollen,” he said. PEOPLE“and the blood was blocked and there was no oxygen to the brain.”

Klein, who was first linked with Wildenstein in 2003, is understandably devastated by the loss.

“It's extremely sad to go to bed with my significant other, who (I've known) for 21 years, waiting to see in the New Year, and (instead) find her cold,” he said.

Dubbed “Catwoman” and “Wildenstein's Bride” in the press, the media personality came to public attention in 1999 after her divorce from art dealer Art Wildenstein.

at the 1998 exhibition Vanity FairArt, who eloped with Jocelyn at their 1978 Vegas wedding, claimed he was trying to get her to see sense and accept her natural look.

“She thought she could fix her face like a piece of furniture. Skin doesn't work that way,” he said, “but she wouldn't listen.”

During their marriage, Wildenstein underwent several facelifts and facial reconstruction surgeries, which resulted in her infamous cat-like visage, consisting of bulging eyes and slightly exaggerated cheekbones.

Art, who also went under the knife more than once, eventually left his wife for 21-year-old Russian Yelena Yarikova. After an angry Jocelyn allegedly discovered the two in bed together, she had Art arrested.

It would turn the once cordial divorce process into an ugly one.

“My husband seems to have no use for me anymore,” Jocelyn claimed in court documents, “wanting to squander our wealth on his girlfriend.”

The contentious divorce proceedings will last two years and will end with Ms. Wildenstein walking away with a $2.5 billion settlement.

Two years after that, she met Lloyd.

“Jocelyn is a wonderful lady,” he told the media in 2016, adding: “She is extremely refined and a woman of great taste.”

Although the public considered her a rich diva Klein would reveal In 2023, his partner used her wealth to help others by creating water sources in Africa and opening several clinics on the continent to care for animals.

“She's known for plastic surgery,” he noted, “but I don't know if she should be known for that because she did a lot of incredible things in her life. The biggest, biggest, biggest achievements.”

Although she never shied away from going under the knife, Wildenstein, who compared her face to that of a lynx rather than that of a common cat, argued that her memorable features were an improvement over her pre-existing features.

“If I show you pictures of my grandmother, what (you) will see are those eyes — cat eyes — and high cheekbones,” she once said.

Wildenstein is survived by Klein and her two children, Diane and Alex Jr., from her previous marriage.