Southern Charm star Olivia Flowers’ brother's cause of death revealed months after tragedy

Fans were heartbroken earlier this year when Southern Charm star Olivia Flowers revealed her brother, who had made a handful of guest appearances on the reality show, had suddenly died in January. 

Conner was just 32 years old and in the months since his tragic death, Olivia has utilized her social media following to share awareness about Lyme disease, which her brother battled for years. 

However, Olivia has now revealed her brother’s true cause of death which had nothing to do with the tickborn disease. 

The Bravo star revealed to People yesterday that Conner had died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl after becoming addicted to the medications he believed were helping the symptoms. 

Olivia slammed the “holes in the healthcare system” that her brother fell through after being left undiagnosed for years. 

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At the age of 15, Conner began developing the first symptoms of Lyme disease, which affects a myriad of famous faces like Bella Hadid and Christopher Meloni's wife.

However, it would be a number of years before doctors could make a diagnosis with Olivia recalling her parents taking Conner “around the world” to find help, but her older brother was rarely believed as professionals claimed: “It’s all in (Conner’s) head.”

While trying to find an overall diagnosis, Conner was prescribed painkillers to treat his chronic symptoms along with other medication to help with his anxiety, which ultimately sparked some dependency issues. 

Despite the attempted fixes, Conner’s health continued to deteriorate and he had to give up his golfing career after being ranked in the state and studying at college on a golf scholarship. 

Olivia recalled the “debilitating” eight years in her brother’s life until he finally got the Lyme diagnosis, unfortunately spending so much time untreated the internal damage required intensive treatments at the same time he started attending rehab to get off the medications that had not been working.

Conner spent years “in and out of rehab” but he desperately tried to “get on the other side of this”.

While it’s tragically common for stars and their relatives in Hollywood to fall victim to substance abuse, Olivia emphasized the truly devastating circumstances for Conner: “These weren't substances he turned to for partying. This was medicine. This is what made him feel normal."