Pregnant Youtuber Nicole Thea Dies Suddenly At 24
By: Christine Obiamlau
Nicole Thea, a UK based Youtuber and social media influencer, and her unborn child died Saturday, according to her family. Nicole Thea, a UK based Youtuber and social media influencer, and her unborn child died Saturday, according to her family. She had more than 80,000 followers on YouTube and 100,000+ followers on Instagram and also created a jewelry and eyelash line called Thea Kollection, NBC reports. The cause of death at this time is unknown.
Thea was about eight months pregnant and was known for posting videos about topics like beauty tutorials, dancing, travel vlogs, and more. She had also been documenting her pregnancy online back in April when announced she was having a baby with her partner, Boga. “GOD gave us the biggest blessing yet,” the announcement caption read, accompanying a video of Thea and Boga (real name, Jeffrey Frimpong) dancing in the mirror. “I’m finally creating a beautiful little human inside of me. Can’t believe this bubba will be half of me and half of the [love of my life].”
Thea’s mother shared the devastating news Sunday in an Instagram post on Thea’s account:
“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. 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,” she continued. “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 statement did not elaborate on Thea's cause of death.
Thea’s mom pointed out that her had pre-scheduled several videos that will still be posted to her channel in the days to come. She said Boga, “has made the decision to allow them to be aired.”
Thea’s death has brought attention to the dark reality of just how scary childbirth can be for Black women. Just days ago, the death of 26-year-old Sha-asia Washington was reported after she died in a Brooklyn hospital during an emergency C-section.
Sha-Asia Washington, photo courtesy Rolling Stone
According to the UK Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths, the chance of death for Black mothers was 1 in 2,500 between 2014 and 2016, a rate five times higher than a white mother in the UK. Black mothers in the U.S. are also disproportionately dealt frightening circumstances in childbirth, often dealing with health complications such as high blood pressure and preeclampsia. Many Black women - who many health professionals wrongly believe can take higher pain than most patients - also risk not being believed by Doctors when they express the pain they’re in.
