'Young and the Restless' star Kristoff St. John's death devastates fiancee, co-stars

Actor Kristoff St. John is being mourned by those closest to him, following the news of his death. 

The "Young and the Restless" actor had played Genoa City's Neil Winters, the patriarch of the show's only black family, since 1991. St. John was pronounced dead at a home in Woodland Hills, California, on Sunday. He was 52.

St. John's fiancee, Kseniya Mikhaleva, grieved for her love on Instagram, sharing a photo of the two and all of the questions swirling in her mind. St. John revealed their engagement on Instagram in September. 

"How did it happen ??? How ??? Why did you leave so early ???? and left me alone ....." she captioned the image, that has since been deleted. "I can’t believe 💔💔💔💔 you were everything to me .... you were a loving father, a loving man,.....how 😢😢😢😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔 love??we should doing a lot of things in future......"

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St. John's "Y&R" co-stars also took to social media to honor him. 

Victoria Rowell, who portrayed St. John's TV wife, Drucilla Winters, wrote on Instagram that her "heart is heavy for Lola, Paris, the entire family."

"You will forever remain joy, love, peace —a once in lifetime collaborator," she captioned a black-and-white picture of the onscreen couple kissing. "Love is stronger than sorrow and deeper than time. Love is forever. #IDreamBlack"

Rowell posted two other pictures of herself and St. John, including the duo posing with iconic activist Rosa Parks and embracing at the Emmy Awards: "How grateful (St. John) has always been to his fans!"

Eric Braeden, who plays the menacing Victor Newman on "Y&R," said he had "no words" after the death of his "brotha" in a social media post.

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Braeden expanded on his thoughts in an interview with People magazine, explaining the impact of St. John's son's death. Julian St. John, died of an apparent suicide in 2014 while in a mental health facility.

“He was deeply, deeply caring about his son and deeply wounded by his son’s death,” Braeden told the outlet.

Remembering his colleague's warmth, Braeden said: “Colleagues loved him, the crew loved him, I don’t think a person that he worked with didn’t love Kristoff. He was just a great guy – funny, intelligent (and) always would listen to what anyone had to say about anything.”

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Shemar Moore, who played St. John's half-brother, Malcolm Winters, said there would be "no ME without YOU," describing the late actor as the "most popular, iconic black man in soap opera daytime history."

In an emotional video tribute posted to Instagram, Moore said: "I lost my brother yesterday. I never had a brother, but you were my brother. You showed me the way. You were my mentor, you were my inspiration. You showed me what true talent was. You showed me what humility was. I love you. I hate this."

He captioned the video, "Sleep my dude.... REST IN PEACE... I’ll finish what YOU started!!! THANK YOU for YOUR HEART and TALENT!!!!!"

"Remembering Kristoff ST. John," longtime star Sharon Case wrote on Twitter, posting a photo of the two. "RIP, my friend."

Former cast member Michael Damian, who played Danny Romalotti, wrote, "I am truly saddened to hear the news of the passing of my friend and Y&R cast mate @kristoffstjohn1 please keep him in your thoughts and prayers"

Alice Hunter, whom IMDB credited as appearing as Kerry Johnson between 2018 and 2019, wished "strength and healing," for those close to St. John.

"May he be met with the comforting arms of his beloved son and may their gentle souls rest together for eternity," she wrote. 

Jason Canela, known to fans as Arturo, said on Twitter he would remember the good times with St. John. 

"got to share some pretty good laughs with him this past year while working on @YandR_CBS and that’s how I’ll choose to remember him, with a smile on his face," Canela tweeted. 

The official Twitter account for the Daytime Emmy Awards, which had honored the actor's work tweeted of the "unbelievable sadness" felt after St. John's passing. 

"Young and the Restless" co-star and former cast member of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" Eileen Davidson tweeted that she would miss St. John.

"I’ll miss you Steel," Davidson wrote in a tweet Monday.

Co-star Kate Linder called St. John a "kind man."

"Kristoff St. John was such a kind man and a very dear friend to me and so many at Y&R," Linder tweeted. "My late husband Ron and Kristoff just adored each other too. He will be missed terribly."

Leslie Jones tweeted of meeting St. John "back in the day" and shared he even took in a comedy performance of hers. 

"Like a really nice guy y’all," Jones told followers. "He was really going through after his son passed. It was really painful for him. I just feel so sad for his family right now!" 

Vivica A. Fox, who worked with the late actor on the short-lived "Generations," posted a photo of the two on Instagram.

"It is with a very heavy heart that I wake up this morning to hear about the passing of my good friend @KristoffStJohn who I started off my acting career with on the Soap Opera #Generations and recently #AChristmasCruise," she posted. "WOW! Kristoff I will soo miss u my brotha!" 

Actress Yvette Nicole Brown mourned her fellow actor and friend.

"No!!! This news has truly broken my heart," she tweeted. "Kristoff was pure & so kind. I will never forget how wonderful he was to me and everyone else he came into contact with. He was just a good, good man."

Journalist Jemele Hill called the news "so heartbreaking."

"Kristoff St. John’s character was so revolutionary because he & @victoriarowell represented the only black family on Y&R, the no. 1 soap," she shared. "Kristoff is appreciated and will be sorely missed."

Contributing: Anika Reed