Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin's ex-wife speaks out after his death

— -- A day after the death on Tuesday of Christopher "Big Black" Boykin, who co-stared in the MTV series "Rob & Big," his ex-wife, Shannon Turley, spoke to "Entertainment Tonight" about how she and the couple's 9-year-old daughter Isis are handling the news.

"He was a great father. That was the best thing about him," she recalled. "He worked his a-- off. Nothing was handed to him."

Turley tells "ET" that Isis is "having a hard time dealing" with the death, but with support from their family, she's "doing a little bit better."

Boykin had suffered from congenital heart failure for a long time, according to Turley, and "had a defibrillator in his chest for over 10 years." Doctors had warned Boykin that he would need a heart transplant.

He had been in the hospital a few days because his condition had gotten worse. Turley and her daughter rushed to the hospital to see him after being alerted by the hospital staff. "We were about 20 minutes away, and right when we got there, it was too late," she recalled. "It was tough. We were right there."

Turley and Boykin remained close in spite of their divorce, and he lived with his ex-wife and daughter before being admitted to the hospital.

Boykin died Tuesday at the age of 45. An official cause of death has not been revealed.