Inside Miriam Rivera's harrowing final years - mysterious 5th-storey 'fall' and disappearance
At the tender age of 21, transgender model Miriam Rivera gained worldwide recognition, but it wasn't quite the fame she had envisioned.
Born in Mexico in 1981, determined Miriam started her transition as a pre-teen and left her family home at just 14. She then carved out a life for herself in New York City's ballrooms, where her stunning beauty left others in awe.
In the early 2000s, Miriam made another bold move - relocating to London to join punk trans girl band Speed Angels. It was here that she signed up for a dating show that would drastically alter her tragically short life - the infamous There's Something About Miriam.
On the surface, There's Something About Miriam bore a striking resemblance to US show The Bachelor. Filmed in Ibiza, the series followed 'six red-blooded lads' vying for Miriam's heart - along with a £10,000 prize.
Various dates and challenges followed, along with a fair share of passionate smooching, reports the Mirror.
The men were kept in the dark about Miriam's gender identity, and her status as a pre-operative trans woman was used as a running gag throughout the show. Host Tim Vincent made light of the situation by referring to Miriam as 'as much Steve as Eve', stating, 'From the waist down, she's a man', while a doctor confirmed in an intrusive cutaway that Miriam still had male genitalia.
Each week, the then 21 year old and stunningly glamorous Miriam would eliminate contestants until only one was left, hoping to find someone who loved her for who she truly was. In the final episode, Miriam revealed that she was assigned male at birth, a revelation that sparked a range of reactions from shock to laughter to anger - but not acceptance.
Psychologist Gareth Smith, who worked on the show, spoke about Miriam's story on The Harsh Reality podcast. He revealed that the men were so incensed by the unexpected 'reveal' that they even threatened murder.
He said: "It had the potential for absolute disaster. They started with 'that f**king bitch Miriam. I'm going to f**king kill her'. That was my worry that it would escalate, that they would wind each other up and it would turn violent."
Initially set to grace our screens in 2003 on Sky One, the show's release was pushed back a whole year amidst a storm of controversy, with contestants up in arms and lawyering up to take legal action. For Miriam, this was just the beginning of a series of distressing events, with the impact of the show - and the subsequent ridicule that followed - taking a harrowing toll...
PTSD and depression
Miriam saw There's Something About Miriam as her chance to shine and maybe even find that special someone who would cherish her for who she was. But instead of being celebrated, she became the butt of the joke, her identity as a transgender woman eclipsing all else about her.
The British Medical Journal didn't mince words, stating: "The premise was not a celebration of transgender people's lives. It was designed to elicit horror from the winning contestant, discovering that his dream date had a penis."
One can only imagine the heartache Miriam endured, facing such public humiliation and rejection after what was meant to be a light-hearted summer escapade.
People close to Miriam believed that she had been battling PTSD after the show, which led to complications with substance abuse and depression. According to The Guardian, Miriam's younger brother Ariel Mendoza was quoted saying: "She was upset when they sued the show. The press trashed her. People blamed her. Some still do. I recently saw a Facebook reel saying 'Look who fooled some guys on TV by pretending to be a woman'. After the show, Miriam went down and down. She looked sad whenever it was mentioned. Maybe she was ahead of her time but I hope her story teaches tolerance."
Mysterious fall
In 2007, Miriam suffered severe injuries from a fall at her New York flat. She claimed that she fell whilst trying to flee from a hammer-wielding burglar at her home.
Despite surviving the horrific fall, Miriam was taken to the hospital in a critical state.
Some stories at the time suggested that Miriam, who underwent brain surgery after her harrowing experience, had been purposely attacked. Friend Jeanett Ørtoft previously told Daily Mail Australia that "some masked men threw [Miriam] out from the fifth floor [of her New York apartment] and she broke almost every bone in her body."
Former friend and musician Nikki Exotica revealed the extent of Miriam's injuries following a horrific ordeal, leaving her virtually unrecognisable. On The Harsh Reality podcast, Nikki described the traumatic aftermath: "She was in a whole body cast, half her head was shaved, she had brain surgery, she had haemorrhaging, her whole front of her forehand was cracked open so they had stitches, she had her arms in a sling, she had her legs in a sling - she was badly messed up and she was in a coma for, I think, five days before I found her."
Personality change and six-month abduction
After the accident, Miriam withdrew from the limelight and relocated to Europe, facing mounting hospital bills that reportedly led her to sex work. Friends noted a stark change in her demeanour, with Nikki recalling a particular encounter in Las Vegas in 2015 where Miriam exhibited unusual behaviour.
According to Mail Online, Nikki lost touch with Miriam but shared: "She would just do weird stuff... like, shady, like exactly what the girls were calling her! I don't know if it was maybe brain damage from the accident but she was doing some weird stuff she never really did to me in the past."
Meanwhile, another friend of Miriam's, Robbie Xtravaganza, reflected on the toll that the accident and years of sex work had taken on her. Robbie shared: "She was really enjoying overseas... but you know, she'd been through some s**t at that point... You know a lot of girls they don't want to do sex work... but they don't have a real choice."
"That's the avenue that they're kind of pushed down... so now they have struggles with addiction because they need whatever substance they need... in order to numb themselves to perform in order to make sure they have food... shelter... that night. She really was in a place where she didn't wanna be bothered with all that... s**t. Do you know what I mean? She was over it, she just wanted like peace and quiet."
Tragically, Miriam never found the tranquillity she craved. In a particularly distressing turn of events, she disappeared for six months without any explanation, later claiming she had been kidnapped at gunpoint and forced into sex trafficking.
Tragic death
In 2019, after returning to Mexico, Miriam was discovered deceased in her apartment. At only 38 years old, her death was officially declared a suicide - a verdict that her husband Daniel strongly disputes.
Speaking to Mail Online, Daniel insisted he suspects foul play in his wife's death, suggesting it could have been staged as a suicide because she rejected prostitution.
Daniel shared the heart-wrenching details of his last conversation with Miriam, saying: "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."
Tragically, just a couple of hours after their final call, Miriam was discovered dead in her Hermosillo home. Devastated Daniel wanted her body sent to New York but was informed it was too late for an autopsy as she had been cremated already.
Adding to his distress, Daniel also claimed he received a chilling threat during the funeral arrangements, with an anonymous caller warning him: "Don't come back to Mexico or we'll kill you too."
It's not just Daniel who suspects foul play; Miriam's close friend Jeanett has suggested that Miriam might have been murdered for her outspoken opposition to human trafficking.
Jeanett shared her suspicions: "Some say she was killed for going against human trafficking, others say that she took her own life."
Emphasising that Miriam had been excited about her future, Jeanett recalled: "The last time I was on the phone with her, a few weeks before her death, she told me she was just about to finish a degree and was looking forward to that. She told me she wanted to write a book about her life."
