Transgender Big Brother star Rebekah Shelton has claimed her billionaire lover’s wife hacked her Twitter account then announced she was dead after discovering their affair.
The Brazilian, 32, who changed her name from Rodrigo Lopes after a sex change in 2014, featured on the reality TV show in 2009.
A statement on her own verified Twitter account last week announced that she had died before she deleted the tweet and posted a video to tell her fans she had been ‘hacked’.
Rebekah Shelton took to Twitter to rubbish the announcement that she was dead
Speaking today she claimed her lover’s bitter wife was behind the tweet.
She told The Sun Online: ‘I’m currently having a romance with a married American guy and he’s rich, he’s a billionaire.
‘He treats me like a queen, flies me business class, we stay in five-star hotels, he dines me Michelin-star restaurants and pays for my lifestyle.
‘His wife knows everything, that’s the problem – she’s the stalker; the one who posted the tweet.
‘She used my Twitter account to announce to my fans that I was dead.’
She added: ‘This woman is a ruthless b***h, she’s evil, but I will not let her ruin what I’ve got.’
The Brazilian, 32, is now called Rebekah Shelton and featured on the show in 2009. Pictured (left) as Rodrigo and (right) as Rebekah on Judge Rinder
A source close to the star’s family told MailOnline her relatives thought she had actually died and were ‘grieving’, but also revealed that some suspect it was a publicity stunt.
A statement posted from her verified Twitter account read: ‘We’re sorry to inform everyone of the sad news that our wonderful and lovely Rebekah died unexpectedly on Wednesday night. We ask that you respect the family’s privacy at this time.’
Ms Shelton then deleted the message and wrote: ‘I’m not dead!!!!!! Please stop spreading this news!!!!! My lawyer is already working on this and this person who wants to spoil my happiness is going to pay for it!!!!!’
In her video, recorded in a hotel room, she said: ‘Hi everyone, I would like to kindly ask.
‘Please stop spreading this news that I am dead, because obviously I’m not. I’ve been through hell today because someone used my Twitter account to write that stupid status about me.
‘This person can’t accept the fact that I am happy and overcome all my problems and that I am finally living my life happy. I’m on holiday, I’m in Arabia and I’m not dead.’
Discussing that today, she told Sun Online: ‘How many people wake up and find out they are officially dead?
‘We woke up to hundreds, not 10 or 20, hundreds of messages on my phone.
‘I even looked in the mirror and asked myself, ‘Are you dead, Rebekah? Has this happened?’
Ms Shelton’s devastated fans rallied around her after seeing a statement which claimed she was dead – although that later turned out not to be true
Ms Shelton recently made an appearance on ITV’s Judge Rinder where she appeared to try and claim money back for a botched boob job.
Last year, she said she was struggling to cope because she felt so isolated after turning to prostitution.
She said: ‘At one point before my surgery I had to leave home, and for six months of my life I turned to prostitution.
‘So many times I wanted to kill myself because I had no one to talk to.’
Speaking about her surgery in 2014, she told her fans: ‘I’ve had my sex change in Rio with Dr Marcio Littleton.’
She then went on to speak in detail about her new female organ.
She hit the headlines for an on/off relationship with co-star Charlie Drummond in the Big Brother house.
She started living as a woman in 2012.
She began by dressing up in heels on nights’ out and wearing friends’ clothes and was advised to live as a woman for a year before making a decision about surgery.