The online community has lost a bright light.
Influencer Tanner Martin has died at the age of 30 following a years-long battle with colon cancer. The news was shared with fans by Tanner himself in a video posted to the joint Instagram account he shares with wife Shay Martin, with hopes to help make her grief journey easier.
“Hey, it’s me Tanner, if you’re watching this, I am dead,” the influencer said in the June 25 video. “I had a heck of a life. I decided to make this video announcing my death, cause I saw someone did that like a year or so ago, and I think it’s a good opportunity to get all your thoughts out and also you can be thoughtful about what your spouse or your partner may need.”
Noting he expected Shay would need “some time to grieve,” Tanner continued, “So, I wanted to make a video where she could just post it so that you guys would know, and she could take a break as long as she needed to from social media.
Speaking directly to the fans, Tanner—who received his cancer diagnosis in 2020—thanked them for all the support amid his health battle and encouraged them to continue to find ways to support Shay and their daughter, AmyLou, affectionately known as Jiaozi, whom they welcomed May 15.
“Thank you for all that you did for me while I was here,” he said. “And all the support and love that you showed me and my little family. I would ask at this time if you could continue to offer prayers and stuff for my sweetheart Shay and my baby girl Jiaozi."
Tanner also looked ahead to the afterlife, sharing his hopes about who he might meet again.
“You guys, life was awesome. I really enjoyed it while I was here,” he said. “Hopefully I believe there’s something after this and I’m excited to meet those people and hopefully we’re hanging out now making fun of all you nerds.”
“Death is scary but it’s also a new adventure,” he continued. “I’m kinda excited about it a little bit. But not in a like I want to kill myself or anything, I’m excited to see what the experience is like hopefully it’s good. I love you guys and seriously thanks again for all your support and helping to make the last few years of my life fun and enjoyable and helping me be comfortable.”
With one final note, Tanner added, “I love you guys. Be kind to each other, see the good intent in other people and you guys will just have a happy life. Love you. See ya.”
After Tanner’s death, another video was shared on his account with his “last wish” for his supporters. In the video, Tanner appears with AmyLou laying beside him as he asked his fans to support his daughter and wife in his death.
“I just wanted to ask you guys if you would help me raise Jiaozi,” Tanner said. “We’re gonna start a GoFundMe and the GoFundMe is to help replace what I would be there for.”
The page indicated part of the funds would be used for a down payment “on a modest starter home” for Shay and AmyLou.
“A space to grow, to heal, and to remember Tanner,” the page’s description continued, “a place that’s truly their own.”
Keep reading for more influencers who have announced their own deaths...
Tanner Martin
After a five-year battle with colon cancer, influencer Tanner Martin—who documented his terminal disease and life with wife Shay Martin and daughter AmyLou online—personally announced his own death.
“Hey, it’s me, Tanner,” Tanner said in a posthumous video shared to Instagram in June 2025. “If you’re watching this right now, I’m dead.”
Tanner, who was 30 at the time of his death, said he wanted to make a video announcing his death because he had seen another user do it and though it was “a good opportunity” to get his thoughts out and call attention to his wife and daughter, whom he affectionately referred to as “Jiaozi.”
“Everyone, I had a heck of a life,” he continued in his video. “You guys seriously thank you for all that you do for me for the time I was here and all the support and love you showed me and my little family. I would ask at this time if you could continue to offer prayers and stuff for my sweetheart Shay and my baby girl Jiaozi.”
The influencer expressed gratitude for his audience, noting that his final request was simply to remember his family in thoughts and prayers.
“Life was awesome,” Tanner concluded. “I really enjoyed it while I was here. Hopefully I believe there’s something after this and hopefully we’re hanging out now. There’s just a lot of people in the afterlife that I’m excited to see them not in pain and just happy.”
Bella Bradford
In October 2024, TikToker Bella Bradford shared that she had died after a battle with a rare form of cancer in her jaw muscle. She was 24.
“I have terminal cancer and unfortunately, by now, my life has come to an end, and I’ve passed away,” Bella said in her video. “But I wanted to do one final ‘Get Ready With Me’ because I love doing these, and I love fashion. Thank you for following me on this fun journey, and yeah, I hope you will be back on all my videos and find a little bit of joy in your day if you ever needed to feel.”
And despite the heartbreaking circumstances, Bella left followers with a hopeful note.
“Remember that you live every day and you only die once,” she explained, “so everything helps.”
Fiona MacDonald
The Australian TV host announced her own death in an Instagram post shared in October 2024 after a three-year battle with motor neuron disease—a neurodegenerative condition similar to ALS.
“Farewell my friends,” Fiona wrote in a post shared to her Instagram account, alongside photos of her and her sons Harry and Rafe. “My sister Kylie is posting this because I have left the building. Hopefully I’m looking down from a cloud.”
And the 67-year-old did not hide the debilitating effect her disease had on the end of her life.
“Last night brought an end to a very tough few months,” she admitted. “While I’ve never wanted to die, the thought of leaving my tortured body was a relief.”
She concluded, "So let’s not call it goodbye as I hope to see you again on the other side—I carry your love and laughter with me and hope you’ll remember mine.”
Kimberley Nix
Canadian influencer Kimberley Nix announced her death in May 2024 after documenting her battle with metastatic sarcoma online for three years.
“Hello followers,” Kimberley said in a TikTok video. “If you’re seeing this message, I have passed away peacefully.”
The 31-year-old influencer—who was a resident trained in internal medicine—explained that she had a “beautiful life” and shared a list of her favorite things, including her pets, her makeup collection and her husband Michael MacIsaac.
And Kimberley—who used her platform to educate followers on her condition after her 2021 diagnosis—also expressed gratitude for her online community.
“I love you all, thank you so much for this amazing opportunity,” she said. “I’m in happy tears because you’ve all made me find so much purpose in the end of my life.”
Daniella Thackray
Daniella Thackray, who detailed her battle with cholangiocarcinoma—a rare and aggressive form of cancer that grows in the bile ducts of one’s liver—wrote a personal note on Facebook to announce her own death in February 2024.
“If you’re reading this then it means I have died from my battle with cancer and my family are posting my final message on my behalf,” Danielle, who hailed from Leeds, United Kingdom, wrote at the time. “Although we can’t control what happens to us, we can control how we react. I chose not to mourn the life I was losing despite being so devastated, but to instead enjoy every moment I had left.”
The 24-year-old admitted that she hoped more research would be done surrounding her cancer—which has no obvious causes or cure at this time—but emphasized that she lived her short life to the fullest.
“As I have always said and believed you should enjoy the little things in life and cherish every moment!” Daniella wrote in her farewell. “Romanticise your life! Do whatever makes you happy and don’t let anyone take the joy of life away from you x.”
And her final word was to her fiancé Tom Calvert, to whom Daniella wrote, “I love you and always will. Go enjoy your life now, you deserve it.”
Paul Harrell
Paul Harrell, who had over 1 million YouTube subscribers for his reviews of firearms, shared a YouTube video in September 2024 titled “I’m Dead” following his death from pancreatic cancer.
“Hi everyone,” Paul said in the video, which he said he recorded in December 2023. “If you’re watching me, I’m dead.”
Paul noted in his video that while he thought he had caught his cancer early, it began to spread rapidly to his bones, and it became apparent to him that his time “is drawing very short.”
“To everyone who has watched, hit the like or dislike icon, commented, shared, subscribed and donated on Patreon,” Paul continued, “Thank you.”
As he put it, “I can’t even begin to articulate how beneficial and appreciated those things are.”
The 58-year-old also went on to apologize to his fanbase for his unexpected departure from the world.
“I had hoped that I would continue in this format for the next 10 or even 15 years,” he admitted, noting that his diagnosis took his life in just a few short months. “My apologies for that, it really feels like I’ve let everybody down.”