Social media influencer Josi Maria, who spoke publicly about her battle with anorexia, died during a recent trip to the Canary Islands, according to German news reports and a friend who was travelling with her.
The 24-year-old Instagram star felt sick while flying to the Spanish archipelago in late November and later died in Gran Canaria alongside her friend and fellow influencer Vanja Resova.Calling Maria “an angel on earth,” Resova revealed the heartbreaking news in a post on Wednesday.
“She has motivated many of you every day to see the positive in everything and to stay strong,” Resova wrote, referring to her friend’s public testimonies about her eating disorder.
“She is now upstairs with the angels,” she said.
Just days before her death, she told her Instagram fans she didn’t want to be someone who dies of anorexia.
According to her mum, Maria is said to have died of heart failure after suffering circulatory problems and poor health as a result of her anorexia.
Her mother commented on her last Instagram post, dated three weeks ago, explaining Maria fell asleep in her friend’s arms while on holiday and never woke up.
She wrote:
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’s mother described her as ‘an angel on Earth’, adding: ‘For your fight against this serious illness we admired you to the last and still had to watch helplessly as you lost this fight.’
Recalling her final moments, her friend, Resova said:
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.
