Raechelle Chase, a popular female bodybuilder and fitness influencer from New Zealand, reportedly died suddenly Friday from unknown causes.
Chase’s professional fitness career included being the first New Zealand woman to qualify for and compete in an Olympia bodybuilding event, News.com.au reported. (RELATED: Iconic Bodybuilding Star Dies Suddenly At Age 30)
“She was supportive, kind-hearted and always had the best advice for us. She was a wildly driven woman with ambition and has inspired millions of people around the world,” Chase’s oldest daughter Anna wrote, News.com.au reported. “I miss her immensely and that love won’t ever fade.”
Chase’s Facebook followers totaled some 1.4 million people. She appeared in at least 14 different magazine covers, PerthNow reported.
In private life, she was a mother of five children, New York Post reported. She divorced her husband Chris in 2015 after 14 years of marriage and later described her post separation relationship as “toxic.”
Popular fitness influencer Raechelle Chase dies suddenly: She ‘inspired millions’ https://t.co/F5wwTTEwML pic.twitter.com/lbrnc0NDCM
— New York Post (@nypost) October 20, 2023
“If you know you are in an abusive relationship and you don’t have the courage to leave, do it for your children,” Chase advised, the outlet reported.
Her sudden death is under investigation by a New Zealand coroner, per New York Post.
Back in Aug. 2023, another young female fitness influencer, Larissa Borges from Brazil, died after suffering two heart attacks. In Borges’ case, there was the possibility of alcohol and narcotics being a contributing factor to the sudden cardiac arrests.