Weight loss influencer Mila De Jesus dies age 35

Mila De Jesus, a Brazilian influencer who gained a large social media following documenting her weight loss journey, has died age 35.

Her family confirmed the news of her passing in multiple statements shared to social media. On 13 January, her Massachusetts-based husband George Kowszik wrote in a Facebook post: “I am not really good with words and talking here… I lost my beautiful wife and my best friend yesterday that I love so much for her. I don’t know what to say.”

Two days later, her daughter Anna Clara addressed her mother’s passing in a statement shared to De Jesus’ Instagram. She shared a black and white photo of her mother, along with the caption translated from Portuguese to English: “I, Anna Clara, am posting this condolence note. We are very sad to hear of the passing of our beautiful mother. We appreciate all the prayers and condolences. Continue to pray for us. Thank you.”

De Jesus’ cause of death has not yet been revealed. In addition to her daughter Anna Clara, the influencer leaves behind three other children. She and her husband were married in September 2023.

The 35-year-old - who was born in Brazil and lived in Boston, Massachusetts - rose to internet fame after undergoing bariatric surgery in October 2017. Since then, De Jesus has documented her weight loss journey with her 64.9k Instagram followers. She was also known for her YouTube channel, where she shared makeup tutorials to her 103,000 subscribers.

According to an Instagram post shared last October, De Jesus revealed that for the past three months she has been battling psoriasis - a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, according to the Mayo Clinic. She explained in her caption that the skin condition has affected 80 per cent of her body, showing pictures and video of her psoriasis on her stomach.

In November 2023, De Jesus shared two side-by-side photos highlighting her weight loss transformation. The first photo - which was taken in 2010, when she was 22 years old - showed De Jesus before undergoing gastric bypass surgery, while the second image pictured De Jesus age 35.

“13 years between one picture... six years since a decision that changed my life in so many ways,” she captioned the post, per English translation. “On one side Mila aged 22 and on the other Mila aged 35, how much we change huh, how we grow and how we learn. Pride girl pride.”

Along with her caption, she included the hashtags: “#bypass #beforeandafter #bariatrica”