Real estate magnate Lee Najjar, best known as the ex-boyfriend of the Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak, died in Florida on April 18, according to TMZ. He was 68.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner confirmed the news with the outlet but withheld the official cause of death.
Meanwhile, Lee Najjar’s daughter, Katelin Najjar, paid emotional tribute to his father in several Instagram Stories. She is a businesswoman and a lifestyle and food influencer.
The first showed the daddy-daughter duo hanging out in a black-and-white video with the words “I love you” written over it. In a follow-up Story, Ms Najjar shared a picture of herself, her parents, and her three brothers from their younger days. The caption read:
“This is our family. Our life is exactly as precious as this photo. This is what’s real.”
Kim Zolciak, 47, has not released a statement about her ex’s demise at the time of writing. During her early appearance on RHOA, Lee Najjar was often described as her “sugar daddy” and even earned the nickname “Big Poppa” despite never appearing on camera. In subsequent years, Zolciak famously called him the “love of my life” despite their 2009 split.
Taking a deeper look into the life of Lee Najjar’s daughter
According to her LinkedIn, Katelin Najjar studied product development at FIDM Fashion Institute. She has since worked as a sales associate at Fred Segal Man for two years, before joining Kyle by Alene Too in October 2012 as a visual merchandiser.
For a year between 2014 and 2015, Lee Najjar’s only daughter was a surgical scheduler at an interventional spine and pain management facility. From there on, Katelin became a stylist assistant for Bartoli Style, followed by a luxury manager at The RealReal’s White Glove. She founded her own company, A Lady Without a Tramp, in 2015.
She is now a self-employed individual dividing her time between West Hollywood, CA, and Miami, FL. Her short bio reads:
“Diligent, detail-oriented professional with strong interpersonal and organizational skills.”
In February 2021, Katelin Najjar launched her first digital cookbook, K8PLUSATE, which had the subtitle:
“Anyone can cook, you just haven’t opened the right book.”
Besides her personal account, Lee Najjar’s daughter also runs a @k8plusate page on Instagram where she “conquers the world one bite at a time.” As evident from her social media, she is close to her mother, Kimberly Najjar.
Five hours ago, Katelin reposted a picture of herself with her dad from November 2015, captioned:
“If you smile, I smile. #Iloveyousomuch.”
Another post showed the father-daughter duo walking with their back to the camera as Marco Velocci’s See You Again instrumental edition played in the background.
Lee Najjar’s daughter also posted his past interview in their native Arabic where she mentioned that she “adored” her dad and was “very close” to him. When asked what he meant to her, she called him “the love of my life.”
“The love my father has for us, for his children, is incredible. We mean everything to him. I’d be lost without him. He is such a loving person, full of energy, he loves people and has a loud voice. You feel the world is empty when he’s not around,” Katelin explained.
In a prior post, the influencer/ entrepreneur uploaded a picture of her birthday card, Lee Najjar had written for her, with the message:
“You will always have my whole heart. I am so proud of you and your accomplishments and always love you.”
In her own caption, Katelin wrote how much she “loved” when her dad wrote her cards, as he knew it meant “everything” to her.
Her close friend called the Najjars her “second family” and noted that Katelin shared an “incredibly close and special bond” with her father, who would “do anything to make her happy.” The individual described Lee Najjar as “incredibly witty” and “genuinely funny” man, who was also a “smart businessman.”
“It’s so hard to imagine life without Lee, but who he was and what he meant to those who knew and loved him will never leave us. He had such a profound impact on my life, and I feel so fortunate to have shared so many unforgettable moments and life experiences with him and because of him… I’m going to miss his one-liners and his sense of humor so much,” the friend added.
Lee Najjar, who successfully invested for $50 million in the Atlanta real estate market for decades, is survived by his four children: Katelin, Jeremy, Jared, and Jamen. He was reportedly separated from his wife, Kimberly.
Edited by Pallavi K