Ashley Lovelace was a rising social media influencer on Instagram who amassed half a million followers in less than a year after a video of her went viral. Although she was known for her unique visuals owing to her half black and half Korean-Hawaiian heritage, Lovelace was aspiring to become a singer and a fashion model. And she was on her way to becoming one at a young age.

Setting her social media fame aside, Lovelace was a normal teen girl who attended high school and lived with her family in Las Vegas. Hence, her death by her own hands at the mere age of 16 was all the more disturbing. Its sudden nature left a lot of questions unanswered and fans have yet to get closure for her death. As of late, her Instagram account has been memorialized to honor her legacy.

Ashley Lovelace was only 16 years old when she took her own life on January 21, 2019

The news of Ashley Lovelace’s death was made public on her Instagram on January 22, 2019, a day after her suicide. Not only did her passing away come as unexpected but the suicidal nature of it saddened the fans even more. Her mother, Stacey Pak, was behind the tribute post and she thanked Lovelace’s fans on her behalf. Alluding that her daughter had been going through ‘tough times’, she wrote:

“Ashley loved all her fans. You all made her really happy. She told me that connecting with her fans helped her through a lot of tough times. I know that you all are grieving for her loss and continuing to build her network is what she would have wanted.”

It would be an understatement to say that her fans were shocked because, up until the time of her death, Lovelace had been actively posting on Instagram, and seemingly all was well. Her last post was made on January 20, just a day before she died.

There were speculations that she took her own life due to cyberbullying and assumptions were made about the state of her mental health. However, Lovelace’s mother urged people not to speculate about the sensitive matter of her death out of respect for her late daughter.

The Instagram post made on January 23, 2019, read:

“There is no blame on any of her peers at her school, her boyfriend, or her friends. Ashley loved everyone, even the ones that weren’t very nice to her. That’s who she was. We are in her mourning. She is, was my true angel God has sent to me for 16 years… Let’s remember her for her beautiful smile and heart. Keep her legacy alive because that’s what she would have wanted.”

Fellow social media personality, Tyler Edmonds, was called out for cyberbullying Ashley Lovelace to death

Shortly after Lovelace’s death became public, rumors were rife that she committed suicide due to cyberbullying. As per her fans, one of her most prominent bullies was another social media personality, Tyler Edmonds (then known by his Instagram handle ‘bardiidabully’).

Edmonds gained notoriety for not only cyberbullying Lovelace but also for being disrespectful about her death after fans tried to hold him accountable for his actions. Upon facing severe backlash from her fans and with his name linked to Lovelace’s suicide, Edmonds doubled down and changed his Instagram bio to read:

“Yo roaches mad about Ashley get over it and yes, I’m the reason why she is gone. I love to bully and can’t wait to bully more.”

When asked about why he bullied Lovelace online, he claimed that it was all for ‘some clout’ and said that while he cared ‘a little when [Lovelace] died’, he no longer cares after being ‘harassed’ by her fans. Edmonds was also captured on video saying that he did not have any regrets for his actions.

Moreover, he made an offhand remark in poor taste about Lovelace ‘shooting herself in the mouth with a gun’, and this further sparked speculations about her method of suicide. Considering Edmonds’s erratic behavior, it is possible that he has some unresolved mental issues.

Nonetheless, he continues to make insensitive comments about Lovelace’s death when provoked by others. For instance, a year after her death, he was caught on an Instagram live saying:

“Ashley wanted clout. I gave her my clout and it fucking ended her. She killed herself. It happened over a year ago, get over it. Stop talking to me.”

Self-harm marks were found on Ashley’s arm in her old Instagram posts, prompting rumors about her depression and anxiety

Since Lovelace’s suicide was unprecedented and for reasons undisclosed, fans were initially at a loss. Soon enough, some fans spotted signs of self-harm in her past Instagram posts that went unnoticed at the time.

There were multiple photos of her, dating back to as early as June 2018, displaying what looked like self-harm marks on her left arm. This more or less confirmed that Lovelace had been undergoing severe mental health issues, possibly depression and anxiety, for quite some time.

Lovelace’s mother, Stacey Pak, set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds in Ashley’s honor, and to raise awareness about the consequences of cyberbullying, suicide prevention, and help people with depression and other mental health issues.

She is currently working towards establishing a foundation in her daughter’s name called the A.L.L Foundation.