Pregant YouTuber Nicole Thea dead at 24

YouTube star Nicole Thea has died. News of the 24-year-old's passing was shared on Thea’s Instagram page on July 12 by the London native’s mother, who had the unimaginable task of confirming that in addition to Thea, the influencer’s unborn child had also died. Thea was around eight months pregnant at the time of her death.The YouTuber, who had amassed a following of nearly 90,000 subscribers, was pregnant with her first child with boyfriend dancer/TikTok star Global Boga (real name: Jeffery Frimpong). “To all Nicole’s friends and supporters it is with great sadness that I have to inform you that Nicole and her son she and Boga named Reign sadly passed away on Saturday morning,” read the statement written on Thea's Instagram page by her mother. She added that Thea and Boga had pre-recorded a few videos together which Boga has chosen to release at a later date. The message concluded with a request for privacy.“As a family we ask that you give us privacy because our hearts are truly broken and we are struggling to cope with what has happened. Thank you her mum RIP My beautiful baby girl Nicnac and my grandson Reign, I will miss you for the rest of my life until we meet again in eternal heaven.”The cause of Nicole's death has not been made public.

 

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To all Nicole’s friends and supporters it is with great sadness that I have to inform you that Nicole and her son she and Boga named Reign sadly passed away on Saturday morning. Also Nicole pre-schedule a few YouTube videos and Boga has made the decision to allow them to be aired. As a family we ask that you give us privacy because our hearts are truly broken and we are struggling to cope with what has happened. Thank you her mum RIP My beautiful baby girl Nicnac and my grandson Reign, I will miss you for the rest of my life until we meet again in eternal heaven. Xxx

A post shared by Nicole Thea - QR2 (@nicoletheatv) on Jul 12, 2020 at 9:43am PDT

The young influencer gained a massive following thanks to her hair, makeup and dance tutorials, as well as her clips discussing daily routine and personal dilemmas. Thea had also launched her own line of online accessories and eyelashes under the label Thea Kollection, which includes false eyelashes as well as affordable rings, anklets and sunglasses that Thea modeled on the site herself.Following the news, fans have flooded social media with supportive and shocked expressions of love for the YouTuber, her unborn child and her family. Some are sharing joyful photos and videos of Nicole and Global dancing together and showing their excitement at what was meant to be the next chapter in their lives together.

Having fun with my favourite person ever lmao ?? @globalboga #GoCrazyChallenge #7MonthsPregnant pic.twitter.com/QSQ6ofpZPa

— Nicole Thea (@NicoleTheaTV) May 30, 2020

Other fans are turning their grief into action by sharing stats and petitions about the shockingly high maternal mortality rate among Black women. In the U.K., Black women are five times more likely that white women to die of pregnancy complications. According to the BBC, the causes for such stark findings stem from social factors, economic factors, different health risks and blatant racism in the health care system.Sadly, the U.K. is not unique here. In the United States, Black women are three times more likely than white women to die of pregnancy-related complications and Black infants are more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday than their white counterparts. Canada does not collect race-based health data, but a 2015 study by McGill University found Black mothers are more likely to give birth prematurely than white mothers, suggesting there is a racial disparity similar to the U.S. and U.K. that is not being recorded.[video_embed id='-1']RELATED: Serena Williams talks about her scary birth [/video_embed]Thea and Boga, who were both dancers, often appeared together in Thea’s videos. The parents-to-be were using the platform to share their pregnancy experience with fans after announcing Thea’s pregnancy in April. The pair posted several videos voicing their excitement over becoming parents, including how they told their families they were expecting their first child together and capturing footage of the gender reveal party.The last video shared to the influencer's YouTube went up only hours before her the announcement of her death. The 14-minute video was a behind-the-scenes look at Thea’s maternity shoot, which included photos of the dancer in a bathtub filled with milk. Comments on the video are turned off, but fans continue to flood the comments sections of older videos with their condolences.[video_embed id='1993445']BEFORE YOU GO: What We're Watching: Black lives in the spotlight [/video_embed]