'Alaskan Bush People' Star Matt Brown Dead at 43 After Apparent Suicide, Brother Bear Confirms in Emotional Video
'Alaskan Bush People' star Matt Brown has died at 43.
May 31 2026, Published 10:16 a.m. ET
Matt Brown, one of the stars of Discovery's hit reality series Alaskan Bush People, has died at age 43, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
His brother, Bear Brown, confirmed the heartbreaking news in an emotional TikTok video on May 30, revealing Matt was found dead after an apparent suicide.
Bear Brown Confirms Tragic Death
His brother, Bear Brown, confirmed the news on May 30.
Bear shared the devastating update with fans on social media, explaining that authorities had recovered a body from a river and later identified it as Matt.
"This is an update about Matt. They found a body in the river a few hours ago and it was positively identified as being Matt," Bear said in the video.
Bear spoke candidly about Matt's long-running personal struggles.
"I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself," Bear said. "Honestly he struggled for a long time as I've mentioned, and I was so worried he was gonna end up, you know, like OD or something like that. I didn't think that he would hurt himself."
"Noah was with them and helped them pull the body out of the water. Noah identified [Matt]," he revealed.
Bear believes Matt committed suicide.
Waiting for Autopsy Results
Bear said brother Noah helped recover Matt's body from the water and later identified him.
"Please be respectful to my family, and to my mom, please watch the comments that you leave guys," he said. "Sometimes words can hurt more than fists can."
"In one of [Matt’s] last videos, he was talking about how negative people were on his posts. You guys should keep in mind that people on the other side of your screen, people you are watching a video of, are real people too," Bear said.
He added that while the family believes Matt's death was self-inflicted, the coroner has not yet completed an autopsy.
Addiction Battle and Recent Setbacks
The reality star urged fans to be respectful toward his family as they grieve.
Just days before his body was recovered, concerns about Matt's well-being had intensified.
On May 28, Bear revealed that his older brother had been struggling with alcohol and drug addiction and had recently confided that he had relapsed following a difficult breakup.
According to Bear, one of their most recent interactions came after the two unexpectedly ran into each other at a grocery store.
"He called me after that, and he said that he had fallen off the wagon," Bear recalled. "And I was like, 'Well, get back on it, man. Everybody falls off. Just get back on it. Go to rehab if you've got to. You got this. You've fought it a lot before.'"
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Heartbreak Before Tragedy
Before Matt's passing, Bear expressed concern about his brother's well-bring on May 28.
The reality star also revealed Matt had been dealing with personal turmoil, explaining: "He'd been going through a really bad breakup" with a woman "he really liked."
"I guess he had been drinking too much. I don't know all the details to it," Bear added, before admitting: "(I) would've never thought that Matt would take his own life."
