Glam influencer Mădălina Apostol died on Sunday, weeks after sharing a birthday message about choosing life despite a secret battle with depression and debilitating pain. Apostol, a mother of three who divided her time between Los Angeles and Mexico, died by suicide, her boyfriend, businessman Nick Radoi, announced.
Radoi described her death as "a great pain" and "a tragedy that is hard to put into words." He revealed that Apostol had been secretly struggling with an autoimmune condition that caused her severe pain. She had also previously sought psychiatric treatment in her native Romania for depression.
Early last month, Apostol, who had 38,000 followers on Instagram, posted a cryptic message on her 40th birthday, referencing Hamlet's famous soliloquy. "I finally have the answer to the question that has followed me for so long: 'To be or not to be?'" she wrote. "I choose to be, because the alternative was never my destiny."
Apostol is survived by a 10-year-old daughter and two adult sons, aged 22 and 19. Radoi described her as an "extraordinary person, a loving mother, a good-hearted person and with a deep faith in God." He added that "the disease came to take over her thoughts and her soul."