Miami police are investigating the current dying of mannequin and influencer Jeff Thomas as a suicide and shall be speaking to Peter Thiel, the billionaire tech entrepreneur who, in accordance with a brand new report, “stored” Thomas in a romantic relationship by offering him with an costly automobile and a $13 million Hollywood Hills dwelling.
Thomas fell to his dying from his Miami condo tower on March 8. The Intercept reported that the Miami Police Division’s probe into his dying will embody interviewing Thiel, citing a report from police and two sources with data of the investigation.
The Intercept’s report about Thomas’ private relationship with the married Thiel is predicated on an interview with Thomas, which reporter Ryan Grim stated befell in November and which is an element of a bigger profile about Thiel that's nonetheless within the works.
Prayers for the loss and heartache that the household of Jeff Thomas are feeling proper now. 🙏🏼
In case you or somebody you already know wants assist TEXT 988 or CALL 800-273-TALK. pic.twitter.com/RQSLtN8ZIM
— Seth Travis (@sethtravis) March 11, 2023
Thomas apparently spoke to The Intercept to share his issues about Thiel’s “hypocrisy.” The Bay Space-reared Thiel, who was married to funding banker Matt Danzeisen, supported Trump’s presidency and has change into “more and more aggressive” in displaying help for Republicans’ tradition warfare, which incorporates efforts to undermine the rights of LGBTQ individuals, The Intercept stated.
“I don’t facet with him on a variety of political issues, however I perceive him,” Thomas informed The Intercept in November. “I’m making an attempt to affect him in methods to indicate him my coronary heart, and present him the way it impacts myself, sure people, himself.”
Within the interview, Thomas additionally opened up about his relationship with Thiel, a Stanford legislation faculty graduate who co-founded PayPal and was an early investor in Fb. Thomas stated they met again in 2015 or 2016 on the Coachella music competition, the place Thiel threw one in all his “legendary events,” Thomas stated.
Thomas stated that he and Thiel, who married Danzeisen in 2017, began a relationship through the early levels of the pandemic, The Intercept reported. Thomas stated he wasn’t fairly Thiel’s boyfriend, however extra like a “good friend” who was there for him, “when wanted, you already know, no matter he wanted.”
Thomas additionally described it as a “stored” state of affairs that made him uncomfortable, The Intercept reported.
“It was annoying, he needed me to get the nicest automobile, the nicest home,” Thomas stated. “He needed to sort of present his energy, to sort of present that he had me in his dollhouse.”
However Thomas justified having fun with the home and automobile, explaining that it was his compensation for being out there.
“If I’m gonna surrender the relationships I've and quit my goals proper now, throughout COVID, or relationship different guys or pursuing individuals, then I’m going to get a $300,000 automobile and I’m going to get a $13 million dwelling,” Thomas stated. “So these are the issues that I see match for me to surrender my freedom.”
The $13 million dwelling was a mansion within the Hollywood Hills, in accordance with The Intercept. Thomas stated he hoped that being related to Thiel and dwelling in such a house might assist him launch a profession in actual property.
Previous to his dying, Thomas was a profitable mannequin with 120,000 followers on Instagram, the place he often posted images of himself, usually revealing glimpses of his sculpted physique, the Day by day Mail reported.
Thomas lived within the 57-floor tower in Miami the place he died, the Day by day Mail stated. He had relocated there after transferring out of the home within the Hollywood Hills, in accordance with The Intercept. Thomas informed The Intercept that the state of affairs had change into “poisonous,” partly as a result of Thiel was gearing as much as help Trump’s run for president in 2024.
Thomas, although, stayed in contact with Thiel and attended his New 12 months’s Eve get together at his compound in Biscayne Bay. In keeping with The Intercept, Thomas informed individuals near him about his relationship with Thiel, however they declined to remark for The Intercept’s story.
In a Fb put up, Thomas’ brother Skylar Ray Thomas implied that the dying was the results of suicide and stated that his brother had battled dependancy and psychological well being points, the Day by day Mail reported.
“As you've got adopted via the years, Jeff traveled the world and lived life to the fullest,” Skylar Ray Thomas wrote, in accordance with the Day by day Mail. “What you might not know, is Jeff struggled with dependancy and psychological well being challenges, which finally led to his tragic passing.”
However interviews with the Day by day Mail, Thomas’ cousin and his agent each rejected the concept he took his personal life.
“This was not a suicide,” Thomas’ cousin, Meghan Rae, informed the Day by day Mail. “To report in any other case is a whole disregard to his character and who he was.”
Mannequin Jeff Thomas might have died after falling whereas taking selfie, agent claims https://t.co/qRFh2k0UMdpic.twitter.com/PtIxtVnA5f
— Web page Six (@PageSix) March 18, 2023
‘I simply can’t consider it’s true that he deliberately did this. He might have fallen whereas he was taking a selfie,” the unnamed agent informed the Day by day Mail. She stated Thomas was a humble man who had a terrific humorousness and who didn't take himself too significantly. She additionally stated she had lately talked to Thomas, who was sharing his plans to begin a brand new enterprise, although he didn’t know what that new enterprise could be.
In case you or somebody you already know is combating emotions of despair or suicidal ideas, the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline affords free, round the clock help, info and sources for assist. Attain the lifeline at 988 or see the SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.