Josi Maria, a beloved Instagram model, who was very honest about her deep struggles with anorexia, has died at the age of 24.
The German influencer passed away in her sleep after going more than 48 hours without eating. Her parents took to social media to pay tribute to Maria, whom they described as an angel who left earth too quickly.
The mourning family explained that Maria died while on vacation with her close friend, Vanja Resova, who is also a German model.
Talking to German media, an emotional Resova revealed that they had traveled to Gran Canaria for the holidays earlier this month.
Upon arriving on the island, the young woman suffered heart failure and passed away while in Resova’s arms.
Resova spoke about the death of her pal to Bild, saying: “We spontaneously agreed to travel, and we were in Miami together last year and this year. During the lockdown, we booked a one-way ticket to Gran Canaria at the end of November to see the island.”
She revealed that she pleaded with her pal to eat because she had not consumed any food for two days — she only had two cups of coffee.
Resova told Bild that once they arrived at the hotel, Maria declined to have a meal but opted to lie down instead.
The mourning friend stated: “Josi asked if I could give her a brief hug and lie down with her for a moment. I then did that in the hope that she would eat something. I fell asleep shortly after her. When I woke up shortly after midnight, I noticed that she was no longer breathing. I tried to wake her up. When it didn’t work out, I went down to reception to get help.”
Maria’s mother decided to write this message in the comment section of her daughter’s last Instagram post: “The day before I held you dear Josi in my arms, we went shopping and you are looking forward to Christmas and your vacation. The following night you fell asleep peacefully in your girlfriend’s arms on Gran Canaria. Your little heart just stopped beating.”
Maria often posted pictures where she looked very thin and spoke about her weight issues with her 130,000 followers, and she recently revealed that she did not want to die because of the disorder.
She wrote: “I don’t want to be one of the 10 to die of anorexia.” The National Institute of Mental Health revealed that the mortality rate of anorexia nervosa is 10%.
Maria added: “I hope that with the video, many people finally learn and realize that anorexia is not a matter of weight but of the head! That it’s not always just the will to be thin, but it’s much more behind it.”
Some are hoping that her story will bring more awareness to this important issue.
