Popular Australian-born star of Big Brother ItalyMonica Sirianni, had turned her back on fame to return to work as an English teacher before mysteriously collapsing and dying on a night out at a bar.
Local reports say the 37-year-old man suddenly fell ill on Friday during a night out with friends in Sauveria Mannelli, a town in the Italian province of Catanzaro.
She was rushed to a local hospital, where she was sadly pronounced dead.
Sirianni grew up in sydney as the daughter of Italian parents who had emigrated from the southern region of Calabria before she was born.
She returned to her parents’ homeland as an adult and at the age of 25, while working as an English teacher, auditioned for season 12 of the hit reality show, which aired in Italy from 2011-2012.
Sydney-born Monica Sirianni, 37, starred in the 2011-12 Italian season of Big Brother, but left the spotlight to return to work as an English teacher in a region of Calabria.
Reports say the 37-year-old man suddenly fell ill on Friday during a night out with friends in Sauveria Mannelli, a town in the province of Catanzaro.
Before being the twelfth person evicted from the house, she had struck up a romance with fellow contestant Fabrizio Conti, but they broke up shortly after the show ended.
She briefly returned to Sydney, where she was photographed for the social pages during Doncaster Day at Randwick Racecourse in 2013, before returning to Italy.
Her popularity with her Italian Big Brother fan base led to a brief television career as a TV presenter for a local tourism network.
He did a live crossover interviewing Italians in Reggio Calabria, a coastal city in the far south of Italy.
But at the time of her death, she had returned to work as an English teacher, according to local media.
Ms Sirianni had only been in Catanzaro, two hours north of Reggio Calabria, for a few days when she collapsed. It is understood that her parents were originally from the region.
Ms. Sirianni briefly worked as a TV presenter after Big Brother, pictured here at a live cross promoting tourism in the seaside city of Reggio Calabria.
Pictured in another live cross for her presentation role that Ms. Sirianni resigned to return to teaching.
Friends immediately raised the alarm after seeing her collapse, according to reports.
Paramedics rushed to the scene and efforts were made to revive her, to no avail.
She was then rushed to the local Soveria Mannelli hospital, where she was tragically pronounced dead.
Reports say an investigation is underway to determine the cause of his sudden illness and death, and no information has yet been released to the public, though reports say third-party involvement has been ruled out.
It is understood that doctors have not ruled out a heart attack as the cause.
According to Gazzetta del Sud, his body will be repatriated to his parents in Sydney, Australia, once the investigation is complete.
Monica Sirianni (pictured) was born in Australia to Italian parents who had immigrated from the southern Calabria region before she was born.
As news of his death broke, tributes were paid on social media.
“I wanted to remember this beautiful girl Monica Sirianni, a former Big Brother competitor and now a teacher,” one person wrote on Twitter.
Another posted simply ‘RIP,’ while someone else said, ‘It doesn’t seem true that she’s not here anymore.’
Others remembered seeing her on Big Brother. ‘At that time I was still watching the show and I remember, I’m so sorry! Hugs to the family,’ wrote one person.
Another added: ‘OMG… I’m so sorry, my condolences to the family.