Stephanie Matto, the influencer who once made headlines for selling her farts in a jar, has now announced plans to leave the United States, citing fears for her safety following a breakup with a "powerful" senator.
In a video shared on Instagram earlier this month, Ms Matto said she no longer feels safe in the country and intends to move to the Czech Republic to seek "alternative living options." The influencer, who also appeared on reality TV, claimed she has received multiple legal threats linked to her relationship with the unnamed senator.
Ms Matto first revealed her connection with the senator last year, alleging that he paid her large sums of money to watch her eat on camera. Despite facing accusations of fabricating the story for publicity, Ms Matto has consistently maintained her claims.
In her latest video, posted on April 8, she said she had received three cease-and-desist letters from the senator's lawyers demanding she stop speaking publicly about their relationship.
"For the past year and a half, I've been romantically involved with a US senator," Ms Matto said. "If you're wondering what the relationship entailed, it was an online arrangement where he paid me to watch me eat."
She added that after dropping several hints, many of her followers managed to guess the senator's identity - an outcome that, she claims, led to escalating threats. Matto alleged that the senator hired a firm to scrub mentions of him from her social media, and that her family was threatened with deportation.
Fearing retaliation, Ms Matto said she delayed revealing any further details until after the US elections. She hinted that the senator is affiliated with the Republican Party.
"During the election, I was close to leaking his name," she said, "but out of fear for my life and my family's safety, I decided to wait."
Now, with the elections over, Ms Matto says she plans to relocate abroad within the next month.
