{"id":637595,"date":"2026-10-22T03:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T03:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/637595\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T03:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T03:16:09","slug":"mod-sun-remembers-ex-girlfriend-sahara-ray-in-heartbreaking-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/637595\/","title":{"rendered":"Mod Sun remembers ex-girlfriend Sahara Ray in heartbreaking tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mod Sun is remembering his \u201cspecial\u201d late ex-girlfriend Sahara Ray, calling her \u201cpure magic\u201d and \u201ca true love of mine\u201d in an emotional Instagram Reel<\/a> shared Wednesday. <\/p>\n

The musician (real name: Derek Ryan Smith) posted a striking video of Ray posing with a monarch butterfly that alighted onto her hand, where remained, gently flapping its wings, while the model playfully transferred it to her nose and back to her fingers again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is who Sahara was in this world,\u201d he wrote. \u201cPure magic. She could turn any moment into art. She walked into a room + all the sudden it was vibrant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mod Sun paid tribute his \u201cspecial\u201d late ex-girlfriend Sahara Ray, calling her \u201cpure magic\u201d and \u201ca true love of mine\u201d in an Instagram Reel he shared Wednesday (as seen above). Instagram\/modsun<\/p>\n

In the clip, the model plays with a monarch butterfly. Instagram\/modsun<\/p>\n

Smith also shared the fact that he and the model shared the same birthday, and therefore \u201cit always felt like we were sharing the same soul somehow.\u201d He added that she was \u201ceveryone\u2019s muse\u201d and he \u201calways called her the \u201cETERNAL IT GIRL.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was with her it was the most free I ever felt,\u201d he continued. \u201cShe was my inspiration before, during, + long after we dated. She was a true love of mine. She just saw life differently. I really do think she was just too special for this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone knew she was a magical fairy,\u201d the \u201cFlames\u201d singer noted, adding that he will always love her, and that she should \u201csave a spot for me in the forest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe could turn any moment into art,\u201d he said of Ray, who was 34 when she died. The two are seen above in 2023. Kyle Goldberg\/BFA.com \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n

He also called her a \u201cmagical fairy\u201d and said he would always love her. They\u2019re seen above in 2024. GAMR \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n

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Ray, who dated Smith in 2023, died on Sunday in Los Angeles. She was 34.<\/p>\n

The model was reportedly placed on life support before her family made the heartbreaking decision to take her off it.<\/p>\n

Her official cause of death has not yet been confirmed, though a source close to Ray told the Daily Mail that she died after suffering an apparent fentanyl overdose.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ray, seen with Mod Sun above in 2023, died on Sunday after reportedly suffering a suspected fentanyl overdose in Los Angeles. Doug Krantz\/BFA.com \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Ray \u2014 who She also formerly dated Justin Bieber and Cody Simpson \u2014 was mother to a baby girl, Snow, born in January. Instagram\/modsun<\/p>\n

Ray\u2019s shocking passing came just months after she welcomed her first child, a daughter named Snow<\/a>, in January with a man named Michael Bradley Dow.<\/a><\/p>\n

The model \u2014 who also previously dated Justin Bieber and Cody Simpson \u2014 is the daughter of legendary surfer Tony Ray and real estate agent Gretchen Gia Bach.<\/p>\n

Ray\u2019s younger sister, Ruby, remembered her as a \u201cforce of nature\u201d<\/a> whose larger-than-life personality and loving spirit left a lasting impression on everyone who knew her.<\/p>\n

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