INSIDE EDITION talks to Jeff Conaway's longtime fiancée who says that his family got a restraining order to keep her away during his final days.
"I'm devastated," Vikki Spinoza, Jeff Conaway's longtime fiancée said.
Spinoza and Conaway lived together for seven years. During that time, the actor was a shadow of his glory days as a leading man.
Conaway starred with John Travolta in the most popular movie musical of all time, Grease. Later, he became the hunky star of the hit sitcom, Taxi.
But Conaway's life was on a downward spiral. Last week, he slipped into a coma and died at age 60. Up until the final moments of his life, Conaway was enshrouded in controversy: his family actually barred Spinoza from his deathbed.
"It's like I didn't even exist for seven years, all that time spent loving this man, taking care of him," she said.
When INSIDE EDITION interviewed Conaway in a Los Angeles hospital last year, Spinoza was at his side.
"I have a very special love for her," Conaway had said.
And yet, as he lay dying, his family went to court and obtained a restraining order to keep Spinoza away from her fiancé. They stated that Conaway was "afraid for his life" if she were around.
When we asked Spinoza why the family tried so hard to keep her at bay, she said, "I have my suspicions" but would not elaborate any further.
In a statement, released through Jeff Conaway's business manager, his family told INSIDE EDITION: "Vikki and Jeff were estranged toward the end. The family felt for quite a while that she was an enabler to Jeff. There was a concern that she was in the relationship for the wrong reasons. The family felt strongly that this recent hospitalization needed to be about Jeff."
"Jeff would be outraged, outraged at what they did," Spinoza said.
On Celebrity Rehab, Dr. Drew Pinksy also voiced concerns about Spinoza's role in Conaway's life when she was caught sneaking him alcohol during treatment.
But Spinoza says she and Conaway were on good terms at the end. She denied claims that she was an "enabler," and said she played a positive role in Conaway's life. It was Spinoza, after all, who found him unconscious and called 911.
Regardless of the drama, it is clear that the death of this once promising actor has left her heartbroken.
"He was my soulmate, my best friend, and I didn't get to say goodbye," Spinoza said.
