Nicole Thea, 24-year-old YouTube star who chronicled her pregnancy, dies along with unborn son

“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,” the statement read, adding: “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.”

Thea rose to prominence with videos about dancing and beauty, which she routinely shared to YouTube and Instagram, where she had more than 91,000 and more than 185,000 followers, respectively. She also ran a jewelry and eyelash line called the Thea Kollection.

More recently, Thea and Boga had been chronicling her pregnancy. They originally announced it with an Instagram video on April 19 with the hashtag #22weeks.

“We can’t hide this any longer, secrets out.. GOD gave us the biggest blessing yet,” the caption read. “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 loml. Honestly, @global_boga has been the best support EVER and GOD made no mistakes making him the father. We are already obsessed with you our little miracle baby. Thank you for choosing us to be your parents and best friends. Mummy and Daddy can’t wait to love, hold and cherish you for ever and ever.”

On June 30, Boga posted a photo to Instagram showing the couple with the caption, “I have good faith baby Boga will come on a Monday. On What day were you born??”

Thea, meanwhile, had been offering a variety of updates on her pregnancy on YouTube, offering insight into what she was feeling and how she was working out, predicting the baby’s gender and, finally, having a gender reveal. Some of the videos skewed comedic, such as when Boga and her brother rated her maternity outfits.

Condolences poured in on social media after the family announced her death. “You didn’t even need to know Nicole personally to see how excited her and Boga were to be parents. You could just tell they were soul mates,” tweeted fellow influencer Adeola Patronne. “Such sad news man. RIP Nicole Thea and baby Reign.”