Charlbi Dean's fiancé reacts to her death

Charlbi Dean's fiancé Luke Volker has shared a message with followers following the actress' sudden death this week.

Charlbi sadly died at the age of 32 after becoming ill with a sudden, unexpected illness.

The Black Lightning actress passed away on 29 August, but an exact cause of death has not been confirmed. Her representatives said her death in hospital was 'devastating' as the news was announced.

Following the announcement, Luke took to Instagram to share a message with followers, explaining: “Hi, everyone. I wanted to just post a picture of Charlbi, but it’s a bit hard.

“And just wanted to let you know I see all your messages, all the love, and I appreciate it. I really do. It’s just I can’t really reply to them right now. But thank you, guys. I appreciate it. I love you.”

The couple had been engaged since April, after Luke proposed in the same New York spot where they had shared their first kiss.

The 26-year-old posted a series of photos from the engagement at the time, calling Charlbi the 'girl of [his] dreams'.

"So many great captions, you know your boy had some bangers waiting in the wings. But all I can say is — this one’s dedicated to the love of my life. The girl of my dreams," he wrote.

Charlbi recently had a leading role opposite Woody Harrelson in dark comedy Triangle of Sadness, which won the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

At the time, Luke wrote on social media about how proud he was of his fiancée.

Alongside a photo of Charlbi at the premiere, he wrote: “3 years later!! Against all odds, almost impossible obstacles, they pulled it off!

"The film is a masterpiece from top to bottom everyone did a spectacularly job getting it done. I couldn’t be more proud of you my love.”

Speaking about the film herself before it won the prestigious award, Charlbi told the Associated Press: "For me, I'm like, I've already won. I'm already at Cannes with the movie. That's so unbelievable. Anything is just a cherry on top at this point for me."

Charlbi was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, and became a childhood model before making her film debut in the 2010 movie Spud, also starring Troye Sivan and John Cleese.

She also appeared in films including Death Race 3: Inferno, Blood in the Water, Don't Sleep and Porthole.

Our thoughts are with Charlbi's loved ones.