The Broadway community and a huge corner of queer social media are mourning the loss of Bret Hanna-Shuford, who has died at 46.

The news was shared by his husband, Stephen Hanna-Shuford, in a deeply emotional post on the couple’s Broadway Husbands account.

In the announcement, Stephen wrote that Bret passed away “surrounded by his family,” and called him “the most amazing man, husband and Papa in the universe.”

If you’ve followed Broadway Husbands for any amount of time, you already know why those words hit so hard.

From Broadway stages to an online chosen family

Bret Hanna-Shuford was a working performer with credits that included major productions such as Wicked, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid, and he also appeared in screen projects including The Wolf of Wall Street.

But for many people, Bret wasn’t just a name in a Playbill or a face you recognized for two seconds in a scene.

He was the warm, funny, soft-hearted half of a couple who let people into their everyday life in a way that felt real.

On Broadway Husbands, Bret and Stephen shared their love story, their marriage, their home, their chaotic joy, and the kind of parenting moments that make you laugh and cry in the same minute.

In a world that still treats queer families like a debate topic, they simply existed—proudly, tenderly, and very publicly.

The illness they faced with honesty

In 2025, Bret was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive combination of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and peripheral T-cell lymphoma, and the months that followed became a brutal fight.

Even then, Bret and Stephen didn’t “perform” strength for the internet.

They shared what was happening with honesty, gratitude, and a kind of openness that invited people to show up with love rather than curiosity.

There were hospital updates, long stretches of uncertainty, and heartbreaking holiday moments that no family should have to spend under fluorescent lights.

And still, in the middle of the fear, there was also so much tenderness—photos, small celebrations, and the constant reminder that their little family was the point of everything.

A GoFundMe was launched in August to help support Bret and his family amid mounting medical expenses.

A love story that changed strangers

It’s hard to explain the impact of Broadway Husbands if you only see it as “influencer content,” because it never really felt like that.

It felt like community.

It felt like watching two men build something stable and sweet, then invite others to believe that kind of life is possible for them too.

For queer people who grew up without many mirrors, Bret and Stephen were the mirror.

For LGBTQ+ parents—or those still dreaming about becoming one—seeing their son Maverick pop into videos and photos wasn’t just adorable, it was affirming.

And for Broadway fans, Bret represented the working-actor reality: showing up, staying ready, chasing the craft, and doing it with heart.

Remembering Bret

Stephen’s message made it clear that this loss is personal, devastating, and real in the most ordinary way grief always is.

It isn’t a headline to their family.

It’s a husband gone too soon, and a child who will grow up with stories and videos and photos that will never feel like enough.

But if there is any comfort to be found, it’s in how loudly people have shown that Bret mattered.

In the messages, the memories, the way strangers have said they felt less alone because of him.

And in the simple truth that love like that doesn’t disappear.

It changes shape, it becomes memory, it becomes legacy, and it stays.

Rest in peace, Bret Hanna-Shuford.

📷 IG: @ broadwayhusbands