Justin Bieber's ex-girlfriend model Sahara Ray dies aged 34
Sahara Ray, a model and influencer who was romantically linked to Justin Bieber and Australian singer, Cody Simpson, has sadly died at 34 years old.
"She passed away last night surrounded by family at the hospital. She was so loved," Sahara's family told TMZ.
Her cause of death has not been confirmed.
Who was Sahara Ray?
Ray, who became a notable social media guru, has nearly 900,000 followers on Instagram and more recently, was the founder of her brand, Sahara Ray Swim.
Tragically, she leaves behind a daughter, Snow, who was born in January.
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At the time, she took to Instagram to share a video of her baby bump, with her captioning it: “Wish me luck. I get induced today at 8 p.m. So excited, so nervous.”
Ray posted of her daughter in January: "Snow Ray 1/27/2026. I can’t believe I made this little Maricle with my body. I’m so proud and so in love."
She then made another post of her birth in April, and added a video of the two together.
“Baby snow hallelujah,” she captioned the post, which also featured Bieber’s 2025 song, ‘Everything Hallelujah.’
She was the daughter of surfer, Tony Ray, and spent her childhood between Australia, California and Hawaii.
According to E!News in 2016, Sahara attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in L.A.
Recently, the model shared her struggle with Guillain-Barré syndrome in 2024 – which the NHS reveals is a rare neurological disorder that left her partially paralysed following a car crash.
“So basically, right now I’m paralysed from the tops of my upper thighs all the way down to my feet. I can’t walk at all,” she said in a TikTok video around the time, per 7news.com.
Ray said it meant she could ‘barely walk.’
“My whole life changed in an instant,” she wrote online at the time. “It basically sent my body into shock which sent my body into this crazy sickness.”
Sahara first made headlines in 2016 when she was photographed skinny dipping in Hawaii with Bieber, but was previously linked to Simpson.
However, the rumoured closeness with Bieber was short-lived as he was seen holding hands with Sofia Richie one week later, who is now married to Elliot Grainge in 2023.
Ray has since been mourned by fans and friends, including a close friend called Becky Hearn.
She wrote on Instagram along with several throwback photos with her: “Sahara, a pure one with a very big heart. My heart is broken for you and your family. Rest in peace.”
A fan wrote: "I used to follow you for years after I saw how beautiful you were when you were dating justin. My deepest condolences to her family and her beautiful daughter. Such a tragedy."
Another shared: "RIP queen I hope you are at peace."
Someone else wrote: "You we’re so adored, rest in complete bliss angel."
Topics: Justin Bieber, Celebrity
Britt Jones