Rafaela Del Bianchi, 27, has died after being thrown from her car when it overturned in a crash on the Lix da Cunha Highway in Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil, at around 5am on Friday, October 3. According to the Sao Paulo Public Security Department, she was not wearing a seatbelt at the time. Her friend, who was wearing a seatbelt, survived with minor injuries.
Police found the vehicle overturned and confirmed Del Bianchi's death at the scene. She had been returning from a nightclub, having posted photos and videos on Instagram hours earlier. Del Bianchi, who had more than 23,000 followers, shared her gym routines and daily life with her 11-year-old daughter Julia. In January 2025, she told followers she had fulfilled her dream of buying a home for herself and her daughter.
Del Bianchi and Kerolin Nicoli, the Manchester City and Brazil striker, were in a relationship from 2022 to 2023. In a tribute posted online, Nicoli wrote: "Even though we know that one day life will end, we are never prepared to lose someone. Today heaven gained a piece of what I loved most on Earth. It hurts to know that I can't hug you anymore, but I feel you in every silence, in every good memory. Nothing will erase what we live. Our love doesn't end here — it's just moved places."
Julia also paid tribute to her mother, writing that she would "try to be strong and make her proud". She added: "I love you infinitely, you are eternal to me." Police have opened an investigation into the cause of the accident.
