Tragic death of transgender woman who was used as 'twist' for contestants in controversial dating show

Warning: This article contains discussion of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and suicide which some readers may find distressing.

Miriam Rivera was recently the subject of a Channel 4 documentary looking at her life and the controversy surrounding a dating show she participated on.

The Mexican transgender woman had been in reality show There's Something About Miriam, but her trans identity was kept from the men competing for her affections and only unveiled at the end of production as a 'twist'.

This controversial and heavily criticised moment and Miriam's life afterwards is covered in the documentary Miriam: Death of a Reality Star, which also recounts her tragic death at a young age.

Miriam came out as transgender after being suspended from school at the age of 12, and was cast in the now-infamous reality dating show in her early 20s.

Rivera then appeared on the Australian version of Big Brother before moving to the US.

Miriam Rivera died tragically young after a difficult life following her appearance on a reality dating show. (Channel 4)

From there she went through what appears to have been an increasingly difficult time in her life.

In 2007, Miriam was admitted to hospital after falling out of a fourth floor window and had to undergo brain surgery as a result of the injuries she suffered.

The model described a man coming to her door and attacking her with a hammer.

She also went missing for a six-month period, alleging that during that time she had been the victim of kidnapping and sex trafficking, while she developed further problems with substance abuse.

Miriam and her husband Daniel Cuervo later moved to Mexico, and she was found dead at her home there on 5 February, 2019 at the age of 38.

Authorities determined that her death had been a suicide.

Authorities ruled that her death at the age of 38 was a suicide. (Channel 4)

Cuervo claimed that he had received death threats from people who said 'never come back to Mexico', and described the last interaction he had with his wife.

He told Daily Mail Australia: “On the morning of February 5, Miriam called me [in New York] from Mexico, telling me she was feeling sick and vomiting blood, so I told her to get to the hospital.

"She called me again before leaving the hospital at 12pm and that was the last time we spoke."

Rivera's life and death have been the subject of a number of productions, including 2021 podcast Harsh Reality: The Story of Miriam Rivera, and the recent Channel 4 documentary series Miriam: Death of a Reality Star.

Miriam: Death of a Reality Star featured interviews with contestants and people involved in the production of There's Something About Miriam, including a psychiatrist who worked on the show who said 'no-one had given a thought to how Miriam might feel' about the show using her for a twist.

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