People's life on social media tend to be different from the life they have in real life.
On social media, things are usually curated, and a perception trap. This can happen because social media is often a way for someone to validate themselves, connect, and become a person they always dream of becoming. Life on social media can be a fantasy, where instant gratification is the drug that keeps people to constantly seek approval.
Life in the real world can be the exact opposite, in which things are a mix of ups and downs, and that not everything is picture-perfect. Real life is full of struggles, and that someone's worth comes from within, and based on achievements, relationships, and self-acceptance.
Real life is about embracing imperfections and living honestly.
Sometimes, people just don't want to face reality. These people can go to great length to have that Instagram-perfect life, in order to hide their real life.
This may not be a big issue, as long as it doesn't concern one's mental health.
And here, a family learned it the hard way, and a little bit too late.
Real estate mogul Brandon Miller had it all.
He had a wife and two young daughters. He was also wealthy, in which he had a number of real estates, cars and more. From having the pleasure of travelling the world in luxurious vacations, he was enjoying many of what money can offer.
To most people, that represents a perfect life.
But in the end, when his wife and daughters were touring Europe in a weeks-long luxury vacation, the troubled Miller was left alone to grieve to his fate.
With nobody to stop him and making him snap out from what he was about to do, he attempted to kill himself by getting to his car, and ran the engine while still inside it.
Without proper ventilation, the garage was filled with toxic gas, effectively depriving Miller from oxygen.
His suicide attempt was discovered early, because the carbon monoxide build-up triggered an alarm, which alerted the fire department in Southampton, New York.
The alarm also alerted Miller's wife Candice Miller, through a notification to her phone.
Unfortunately, the socialite who is also a fiend of Ivanka Trump, missed the first alert of the carbon monoxide alarm that came to her phone, because she was asleep at her $2,000 per night hotel in Italy's ultra-chic Amalfi coast.
A wealthy friend arranged for Candice and her two girls to fly back to the U.S. on a private jet.
They were in time to say their final goodbyes, before Miller was taken off life support.
It didn't take long after that, that Miller passed away.
Miller was 43 years old.
The Town of Southampton Police Department refused to share details of Miller's suspected suicide but a law enforcement source confirmed the cause of death was asphyxiation.
It was only after his death, that the truth is finally revealed.
Miller's wife, Candice Miller, the co-founder of the lifestyle blog Mama & Tata, realized that her husband had a mounting debt, and that he also faced legal problems.
Mer husband, heir to a real estate empire, was seeing his company crumbling.
His company. REEC, had developed more than one million square meters of malls, plazas and condos throughout the U.S., and had accumulated Miller a staggering personal wealth of more than $74 million.
But the company, when was passed on to Miller from his father, had also accumulated a lot of debt, a debt Miller couldn't help the company repay
At the same time, he was struggling to maintain his family's gilded lifestyle.
It was only after the incident, that she realized that her husband was also battling mental health.
Candice spent money like water, and that Miller was under pressure to come up with money, to not only repay his debts, but also to fund the family's lifestyle.
She would get an $800 facial once a week, and had a private chef. She spent thousands of dollars on flowers alone for each of her dinner parties, and spent another thousand dollars per month for a memberships and private training sessions
She would also fill the inside of her wardrobe with branded items, and purchased branded bags.
And not to mention, she would often indulge in frequent costly vacations.
Everything Candice had and did, were captured by a professional photographer to project this perfect lifestyle.
All of that costs an absolute fortune.
In the past, Candice once spoke about how she relied on her husband for support.
"On most days," she said, "what I really look forward to is arriving home, and sitting for dinners with my husband and my girls, followed by some very yummy snuggles before bedtime, where we all profess our love for one another over and over again."
"I have the most supportive husband who encourages me to do whatever I love and always lifts me up. I attribute a lot of my courage and strength to his unconditional love and support, as well as that of my children."
Candice had always portray herself living a luxurious life, posing in frequent Instagram-perfect photos with her family and friends.
Not to mention, several places Candice went to for her Instagram posts, like the penthouse in Tribeca, was made to happen after Miller borrowed money.
The family also spent weekends on Long Island, and spent most of their time at a $47,000-per-month rental on Park Avenue in New York City's Upper East side.
At the time of his death, Miller was being sued for more than $221,000 by two companies.
He also sued for more than $100,000 after failing to pay for his family's "high-end living, dining and bedroom furniture and various accessories," and he had also "refused to return' $64,000 worth of items that were used to furnish the Park Avenue apartment."
Miller was also being sued for more than $55,000 for unpaid bills dating back to 2022 by the Lighthouse Marina, where he moored his boat, MillerTime.
Previously, Miller and his mother, Barbara, allegedly made a series of fraudulent transfers to prevent the bank from collecting on a $2.1 million debt that Miller's father, Michael, owed on an outstanding mortgage.
In all, Miller left an eyewatering $17 million in personal debt.
When Miller's death was concluded as suicide, further suits cast doubt on whether Miller could really afford the jet-set lifestyle that was carefully curated for his wife's online followers.
Before his death, some of their close friends and relatives sensed the tensions in Miller's 15-year marriage with fitness fanatic Candice, when Candice began posting more photos on Instagram without her husband,
Miller was no longer photographed at her side at glittering social events, when socialites attend.
Miller was also gaining a lot of weight.
And things became more apparent, when Candice and the girls took off to Europe, while Miller had to stay home.
Candice was in Italy, when she realized about her husband.
If the vacation was not cut short, Candice and her daughters were planning to visit Majorca in Spain's Balearic Islands, stay at the five-star La Residencia hotel, and more.
After Miller's death, Candice deleted her @mamaandtata Instagram page before the news went public.
