YouTuber Pretty Pastel Please dies ‘suddenly and unexpectedly’ aged 30 as fans pay tribute to 'kind' star

The social media star known as Pretty Pastel Please, whose real name is Alexandra or Alex, last posted to her page in May - leaving her fans questioning where she had gone. Earlier today (Friday July 5), her family announced the news that she died last month.

The announcement read: “We come to you today with a devastating announcement. It is with a heavy heart that we must inform you that Alex, known to many as Pretty Pastel Please, has passed away.

“Her passing was sudden, unexpected and devastating to all who knew her. This is a shock to us all, and her family and friends have requested privacy as they navigate their grief. We would ask that you respect their wishes – they appreciate all of your support but need time to heal in private.”

The Australian influencer built a fanbase on YouTube and Instagram by sharing product reviews, fashion hauls, and travel clips on the sites. She had almost 700,000 subscribers on YouTube. In her most popular video, which has more than four million views, she explained how she “only ate food from 7-Eleven in Japan for a week”.

Her other most-watched videos included her spending $500 (around £392) at Wish on car accessories and her beloved parrot Archie whispering into a microphone “for five minutes straight” to “cure your sadness”, which both had more than two million views. Her final video, which was uploaded on Friday May 31, featured her showing off her Temu fashion haul, and gained more than 47,000 views.

Alex also had around 122,000 followers on her main Instagram account, and she also had a separate account specifically for her wildlife photography. A memorial will be held on Instagram and YouTube for her fans to pay their respects to the star in “due course”, her family said. They also thanked fans for their understanding “in this difficult time” and encouraged anyone affected by this news to reach out for help, stating “you are not alone”.

Many fans have commented on the post to leave their tributes to Alex. One said: “As the flock unites. Pastel and all. Remembered as our friend. We will never forget you. You are our pastel queen.” Another said: “ I am so devastated to see this. Been following Alex for many years and she was so genuine and kind. She had a pure heart. RIP Alex, you will very much be missed. Thank you for being so brave and sharing your real life these last several years. You helped others more than you know.”

A third said: “I genuinely am unable to process this at this point! As someone who’s who watched her for years . Her haul videos helped me get through terrible times.” A fourth said: “Rest in peace. I wish for comfort in this time for all that loved you, whether that be friends, family or fans. You were such a light, even through all of your phases.”

Alex had previously opened up with her fans about troubles in her personal life, including going through a divorce in 2023 and being on the receiving end of online trolls cruel comments. Without specifying what she was referring to, she wrote in April 2023: ‘What a difference five months makes, when you remove yourself from a situation that was slowly killing you.’

In a previous post, she also said that she found it tough dealing with “hurtful” remarks on social media and asked people to be kinder. ‘I’ll admit it now, I don’t handle criticism well. I’m not cut out to handle reading negative things about myself. I can see a thousand positive comments and forget them all the moment someone says they don’t like me,” she wrote in December 2022. She continued: “Ten thousand people can tell me they think I’m beautiful, but if ten people call me ugly, my self-worth goes down the drain. No, I can’t handle it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t continue to have a presence online. People say “you shouldn’t be a YouTuber if you can’t handle negative comments” but how about “YouTubers shouldn’t look at comments, because the things people say can be very hurtful?”‘

Alex’s cause of death has not been announced.

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