Layne Nisenbaum, the longtime partner of former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) has died, according to the blog Jose Lambiet’s Gossip Extra.

Nisenbaum, a 53-year-old dermatologist for the well-to-do in Palm Beach, Fla., died of a rare form of liver disease and passed away while waiting for a liver transplant.

Nisenbaum and Foley had been together for years, but their relationship became public when Foley got into trouble in 2006 for sending sexually explicit electronic messages to male pages. He resigned from his Congressional seat just before the Democratic wave hit in 2006.

“Layne was my most solid supporter through that ordeal,” Foley told Gossip Extra. “He came to see me in Arizona [where Foley was in rehab] every weekend.

“At one point, he asked me if I was coming home. I told him I would if he’d have me, and he said: ‘Of course.’”