Heavy/Getty Nate Berkus
HGTV star Nate Berkus is keeping the memory of his late partner, photographer Fernando Bengoechea, alive.
“Remembering Fernando today on his birthday. In honor of Fernando, his brother Marcelo at [The Studio at Fernando Bengoechea] is donating 20% of all August sales to [Direct Relief]. Your support will directly help with natural disaster relief efforts,” Berkus wrote in an August 19 Instagram post alongside a photo of Bengoechea.
Bengoechea died in December 2004 while vacationing in Sri Lanka with Berkus when a tsunami hit. Both of the men were swept away by the waves, but only Berkus survived.
Nate Berkus Shared His Tsunami Survival Story on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’
Berkus’s followers took to his comment section to send him love, with one user writing, “I love that as your life moves on, you never forget. Bless you, your family and happy heavenly birthday Fernando!”
“I think about you and your old love (such a handsome guy!) and what a trauma and tragedy you went through –and I’m so happy you chose to embrace life again,” another fan commented.
“I remember you both many years ago. You were a regular guest/cast on Oprah. Eternal light. 🔥❤️ blessings to you and your beautiful family,” a third user added.
Berkus was a mainstay on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” earlier in his career, appearing for design and renovation segments during the show. After he survived the tsunami, he came on the show as a guest to talk about his experience and honor Bengoechea.
“My take on the tsunami is a bit different because I understand the horror and I understand the devastation because I lived through it. I believe that I survived the tsunami so that I would be able to understand how Fernando died,” Berkus told Winfrey. “Because if I would have been home and received a phone call [I wouldn’t have understood it] — he travelled all over the world doing shoots for magazines and international [photography] and he was in many dangerous places for his whole life. And for me, I have the grief to contend with and then maybe all this stuff will kick in. I’m not sure. But I do believe that I survived so that I would have a greater understanding of what I’ve had, what I’ve lost, and what I still have to gain.”
Fernando Bengoechea’s Brother Marcelo Continues His Work
Marcelo Bengoechea, Fernando’s brother, shared how he keeps his brother’s work alive in a 2023 short film titled “Woven Together”.
“Along with his stellar editorial career, Fernando pursued another passion of his, and pioneered woven photographs,” Marcelo shared, including shots of some of his brother’s woven images, which consist of two prints of the same photograph being cut into strips and woven back together, giving a unique texture to the final image.
“It took me more than 15 years to accept Fernando’s death, but what I did not accept was his art dying with him. And I made it my mission to keep his art alive by hand-weaving myself Fernando’s images. A collaboration between brothers, one in heaven and one on earth,” Marcelo added.
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Nate Berkus Shares Tribute to Late Partner Who Died in Tsunami