Taime Downe and Kimberly Burch. Courtesy of Taime Downe/Instagram
UPDATE — 6/2/25 at 8:40 p.m. ET: Faster Pussycat singer Taime Downe is addressing the death of his fiancée, Kimberly Burch, after she was presumed dead following an alleged fall off a cruise ship earlier this year.
“It’s a roller coaster,” Downe said during the Saturday, May 30, episode of SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk, per Blabbermouth. “I’m hanging in there. I’m just taking it a day at a time.”
The musician shared that he’s decided to go on tour to help his grief, calling music “very therapeutic.” He noted that his “fingers are crossed” the decision will help him heal.
“Everybody thought going out on the road and doing what I do and being with my family in my band would be good for me. [I’ll] get to see a bunch of fans and a bunch of friends across the country. So I think it’ll be helpful,” he said, adding, “I’m just going out and doing what I love to do with the people I love. “So, I think it can’t be anything but therapeutic, you know what I mean?”
As for Burch’s death, Downe claimed that the alleged incident was also “alcohol and prescription related” but he prefers to keep the details private from the public. “it’s good to talk about it. It’s good to talk about it with my friends, my close-knit friends. I don’t really wanna talk about it with strangers, ’cause it doesn’t seem appropriate,” he explained. “It is what it is.”
Original story below:
Faster Pussycat singer Taime Downe‘s fiancée, Kimberly Burch, has reportedly died after falling overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship near the Bahamas.
TMZ reports that Burch fell to her death after being seen in a “heated argument” with Down, 60, on board The ‘80s Cruise, which set sail from Miami on Sunday, March 2, and was headed to the Bahamas.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the incident occurred 20 miles off the coast of Freeport. The Coast Guard reportedly provided a helicopter and personnel to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in its rescue mission but the search was eventually suspended without finding a body.
Kimberly’s mother Carnell Burch told the website that Downe had personally called her to deliver the tragic news on Monday, March 3, but it’s still unclear how Kimberly fell overboard. Carnell claimed that her daughter had been drinking but hadn’t shown other obvious signs of distress.
A Royal Caribbean Group confirmed the incident: “Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort, is working with local authorities, and we are providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our guest’s family, we have no additional details to share.”
In a social media post, Kimberly had confirmed to her Instagram followers over the weekend that she “made it to The 80s Cruise” while posing with Downe. Faster Pussycat were set to perform on the cruise alongside fellow 1980s music stars Adam Ant, Tiffany, Squeeze, and Men at Work.
Former Vixen lead singer Lorraine Lewis responded to Kimberly’s final post with a tribute: “Devastating news. Taime & Kim are soul mates. RIP beautiful. Sending so much love to both of you and your families. This is unimaginable. RIP Kim.”
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Downe last posted a photo with Burch on February 14 for Valentine’s Day, where he wrote to her via Instagram: “I had a beautiful #valentinesday with my love and better half @burchkimberly. We ate candy and cupcakes. I’m a lucky man!”
The couple were together for nine years and got engaged in 2022.
Downe has been the frontman of heavy metal band Faster Pussycat on and off since its formation in 1985. The group rose to fame as part of the historic Sunset Strip hair metal scene of the mid 1980s alongside Guns N’ Roses and Poison.
Faster Pussycat’s self-titled debut album was released in 1987, but they reached the peak of their success two years later with their single “House of Pain,” which hit No. 28 on Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their most recent studio album, The Power and the Glory Hole, was released in 2006.
Downe is next set to perform with Faster Pussycat on the Monsters of Rock Cruise, which sails from Miami, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas from March 10 to March 15. There is no confirmation yet on whether Faster Pussycat’s concert will go ahead as planned.
