She was one of Instagram’s first major bombshells, attracting almost 20 million followers and transforming her famously curvaceous figure into a highly profitable brand.
Just under a decade ago, Birmingham-born model Demi Rose Mawby was a constant presence on news websites and social media, thanks to provocative images of her posing in barely-there bikinis on yachts, at luxury hotels and on exotic beaches.
Fashion labels competed to work with her, while her image appeared on advertising billboards across the country. The commercial rewards followed quickly.
Her profile continued to climb. In 2021, Demi joined the adult subscription platform OnlyFans, the same year her company reported assets worth £1.25million.
But almost as quickly as she had become a social media sensation, Demi appeared to disappear from public view.
The risqué Instagram account that had built her enormous following went quiet in April 2024, and she unfollowed every account.
Her final post was footage of her wearing a bikini while relaxing in an outdoor bath in Cappadocia, Turkey. It was shared as an Instagram story 127 weeks ago.
Her OnlyFans page, which once accumulated 1.2million likes, has remained inactive. Fans have also been left baffled by the silence surrounding her final TikTok, uploaded in February 2024, with one comment simply asking: ‘WHERE IS SHE?’
She was one of Instagram’s first bombshell sensations, amassing almost 20million followers and turning her famous curves into a lucrative business, including a collaboration with PrettyLittleThing
Demi’s final post showed her in an outdoor bath in Cappadocia, Turkey. Shared as an Instagram story 127 weeks ago, it has not been followed by any new posts
The finances of her business have also fallen considerably from their high point.
The latest accounts filed by Demi Rose Productions Ltd showed net assets of just £24,855 in April 2024.
Its 2025 accounts are now nine months overdue, while a second company, Demi Rose Enterprises Ltd, was struck off in July 2024.
The unexplained disappearance of a figure who was among the most recognisable online personalities of the 2010s has inevitably fuelled speculation about where she is.
One follower referred to the ‘many rumours’ surrounding her absence in a comment beneath an old post. Others have made the baseless claim that she could have been ‘killed by a millionaire’.
Some online sleuths have highlighted the deaths of both of Demi’s parents, which left her orphaned at the age of 24, as a possible explanation for her withdrawal. Others have focused on her past association with Michael Williams, known as Taz, a shadowy ‘Hugh Hefner’-like figure with whom Demi briefly lived in a Miami mansion during her early twenties.
So where is the young woman whose career was built almost entirely on being seen?
The apparent answer lies hundreds of miles from her hometown of Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, in the spiritual heart of Ibiza.
Away from the superclubs and hedonistic nightlife associated with the Spanish island, Demi is understood to have gravitated towards its more bohemian centre.
When the Daily Mail contacted Demi for comment, a friend on the island said she was ‘not ready to talk… about her time offline’.
The model is understood to be living close to the quiet, upscale village of Santa Gertrudis – an area long associated with Ibiza’s hippy heritage and alternative ‘spiritual’ scene.
There, her closest friends allegedly include a tarot consultant who describes herself online as a ‘natural-born seer’, ‘modern-day mystic’ and ‘soul coach’.
While lying low, Demi has been spending time with her cats, it is said, and is understood to have become involved with local animal shelters, helping to find homes for strays.
When she first moved to the island in the early 2020s after the Covid pandemic, she spoke to a lifestyle magazine about living ‘away from the bustling nightlife that first captivated her’ and of her ‘profound gratitude’ for the peace.
‘Demi Rose began her love affair with Ibiza many years ago, and it has grown and blossomed,’ read the article in local publication Ibiza Style in 2024.
‘Over the past year, she has immersed herself in enjoying alcohol-free events, live music sessions, and spiritual practices such as yoga and sound healing. This holistic approach to life has allowed her to uncover a side of Ibiza that many visitors overlook.’
The glossy profile included pictures of the model lying outside, nude on sand-coloured stones, with her long red hair partially covering her body.
Almost as suddenly as Demi had burst onto the scene, she effectively vanished. The risqué Instagram page upon which she had built her extraordinary following fell silent in April 2024
When paparazzi photographs emerged of her on an Ibiza beach this summer – the first new pictures of the model in three years – one news outlet described her as being ‘retired’
EXPLORE MORE: Lawyer for One of Cornell 7 Urges Letitia James to Step Down
‘The contrast between the island’s energetic south and its serene north offers her the perfect balance,’ the piece continued.
‘She can choose to engage in the island’s vibrant social life or retreat to her peaceful sanctuary whenever she needs to recharge… Her journey on the island is a testament to the transformative power of embracing one’s true self and finding peace in the midst of life’s challenges.’
Demi’s new life in the Mediterranean is worlds away from Sutton Coldfield, where she was raised in a £550,000 house by her parents Barrie and Christine Mawby.
After studying beauty therapy at Walsall College she made her first steps into modelling, with photoshoots for lads’ mags including FHM and Zoo.
By the tender age of just 21, she had already amassed 4.5million followers on Instagram.
After college, Demi moved to America to be a part of ‘Taz’s Angels’, a group of young women who lived together in a rented mansion in Miami throughout the 2010s, apparently mentored by a man known simply as ‘Taz’ on how to achieve fame and fortune.
In 2016 ‘Taz’s Angels’ Instagram page read: ‘The Names Change, But The Game Remains The Same. A Bad B**** Turns 18 Everyday.’
The page – which collapsed in 2017 following intense public scrutiny and allegations of toxic, exploitative conditions – showed girls twerking in skimpy costumes and posing for semi-naked selfies.
Taz, real name Michael Williams, was described as being the ‘black Hugh Hefner’ of the time and had previously been accused of running the ‘Angel’ girls as escorts.
In 2016 a post on Instagram by one of the ‘Angels’ gave an insight into life in the Miami mansion.
It read: ‘A lot of people don’t understand our relationship to #Taz, or what #Sisterwives are… Taz is our king and yes we all share him… At the end of the day it’s our life and we don’t [care] what anyone thinks about us.’
Demi soon left the group in November 2015 and returned to Britain to look after her mother. She told The Sun in her first newspaper interview in 2017: ‘I have an amazing life travelling the world and showing off curves to rival the Kardashians.
‘I love the best parties, yachts and fast cars – but deep down I’m just a kid from Sutton Coldfield who got lucky.’
At the height of her fame, 5ft 2in Demi became a ‘global ambassador’ for the clothing brand PrettyLittleThing and worked with online fashion company I Saw It First and lingerie firm Wolf & Whistle.
She also appeared in DJ Khaled’s music video for How Many Times, and briefly dated DJ producers Tom Zanetti and Chris Martinez, before later coming out as bisexual.
However, behind the glamorous social media photographs and a jet-setting lifestyle, Demi was dealing with turmoil at home.
Her father Barrie died from cancer in October 2018 aged 80, followed by mother Christine just eight months later, aged 63.
Far from the superclubs and excess for which the Spanish party island Ibiza is famous, Demi has gravitated towards its more bohemian centre and alternative ‘spiritual’ scene
Demi spoke about how losing both parents left her feeling ‘angry, sad, bitter and lonely’, and led to her turning towards self-care and spirituality. Here she’s seen in the Ibiza Style 2024 profile shoot
Former NHS worker Christine had suffered a heart attack and stroke when Demi was just 17, leaving her unable to move her left arm or leg.
Speaking on an archived PrettyLittleThing podcast, she said: ‘I’ve lost both of my parents, my dad to cancer and my mum had a heart attack which caused a stroke when I was 17 and I was left as her carer as she was left disabled.
‘I was caring for her for so many years, about seven years.’
Demi spoke about how losing both parents in such quick succession left her feeling ‘angry, sad, bitter and lonely’, and led to her turning towards self-care and spirituality.
It is against that backdrop she found herself in something of a self-imposed exile in the Balearics.
There are, however, signs that Demi’s time away from the social media spotlight may finally be coming to an end.
When paparazzi photographs emerged of her on an Ibiza beach this summer – the first new pictures of the model in three years – one news outlet described her as being ‘retired’.
That prompted a complaint and an addendum which stated: ‘We have been contacted by her representatives and are happy to clarify that she has not retired but has been taking a professional break and fully intends to return in due course.’
If Demi does decide to make a comeback, a vast audience is there. Despite years of near-total inactivity, she still commands some 17million followers on Instagram alone, who are eagerly awaiting her return.