“Be mindful about what you’re sharing, because once it’s online, it’s online forever,” says Lilly Sabri.<\/p>\n
The fitness influencer, who has six million followers on YouTube, has urged fans to heed her words as she plans to return to Instagram after a long absence.<\/p>\n
Two years ago she was living her dream, running two successful businesses helped by her explosion in popularity during the Covid lockdowns.<\/p>\n
But the physiotherapist went silent on Instagram in 2023 when a popular gossip podcast shared a story about a man who had allegedly cheated on his well-known fianc\u00e9e – with enough clues to suggest the man in question was her then partner.<\/p>\n
She woke to find “thousands” of notifications from social media and messaging apps as seemingly the whole world wanted to know whether there was truth behind the rumours.<\/p>\n
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The creators of the podcast, which the BBC has chosen not to name, say they are not responsible for actions taken as a result of their content.<\/p>\n
Lilly – who has not discussed what happened in public until now – sat down with me to talk about the moment which changed her future.<\/p>\n
Soon after the podcast launched, her social media feeds began to fill with what she called “investigator-style” videos speculating about her life and how she would react.<\/p>\n
Her first step was to delete her Instagram app.<\/p>\n
“I just had to get away from social media,” she said.<\/p>\n
“People wanted answers, people wanted to see even more into my life, even when I asked for privacy.<\/p>\n
“All I could do was control my own reaction and that meant withdrawing and protecting myself and my family.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Emma Lynch\/BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n
Lilly’s relationship ended, but there was much to untangle – her ex was also her business partner, leaving her faced with raising the funds to buy him out. He has been contacted by the BBC for comment.<\/p>\n
She left Dubai, where she had been living with her partner, to move back in with her family in the UK – and had to lay off most of the companies’ staff.<\/p>\n
“It was very humbling and very difficult,” Lilly said, explaining she had to go back to doing the work she used to have staff for – such as editing, filming her videos, and running the business’ social media feeds.<\/p>\n
It meant even though she was trying her best to avoid it, Lilly was constantly engaging with social media platforms to keep her businesses going – and she had to try to avoid looking at the myriad of personal comments.<\/p>\n
“I was trying to manage the heartbreak and the shock combined with keeping the business afloat,” she said.<\/p>\n
Her most recent Instagram post until now, on her personal account, was uploaded in November 2023 – with many of the comments asking why she has not posted for so long.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n