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English YouTuber, fitness influencer, and trained psychotherapist Lilly Sabri has returned to social media after an 18-month hiatus. During an interview with the BBC published on April 19, 2025, she opened up about her former fiancé and business partner, Alex Tyrwhitt, allegedly cheating on her in 2023, claiming it resulted in her long break.
"Be mindful about what you're sharing, because once it's online, it's online forever," Lilly told the outlet.
Back in November 2023, hosts of gossip podcast The Girls Bathroom, Sophia Tuxford and Cinzia Baylis-Zullo, read out a letter during their “girl talk” segment, during an episode titled, My best friend is in love with an engaged man.
The letter revealed that a man reportedly cheated on his famous influencer fiancée, the details of which suggested it was Lilly Sabri. Later, she confirmed the same alongside the news of her breakup.
Now, in the wake of her social media return, the content creator told BBC that her immediate instinct at the time was to delete her Instagram and distance herself from the online rumors, while she navigated the end of her relationship.
"I just had to get away from social media. People wanted answers, people wanted to see even more into my life, even when I asked for privacy. All I could do was control my own reaction, and that meant withdrawing and protecting myself and my family," Lilly noted.
Sabri further mentioned how the entire experience was both “humbling” and “difficult” as she had to deal with not only a breakup but also her business.
More about Lilly Sabri’s BBC interview and social media return
Lilly Sabri sat down with the BBC’s Zoe Kleinmann last week and shared her ordeal about her relationship scandal blowing up online two years ago. She recalled waking up to “thousands” of notifications, texts, and calls asking her about the truth behind the rumor that her then-fiancé had cheated on her.
Sabri noted that following the podcast reveal, “investigator-style” videos filled her social media feed speculating about her personal life, which is when she decided to “control” her reaction and distance away from all apps.
She recalled ending her relationship, leaving Dubai, and moving back with her family in the UK, and raising funds to buy out her then-fiancé, as he was also her business partner. Lilly mentioned laying off most of her staff, as she could no longer afford them.
According to the influencer, she had to go back to doing everything herself, including editing, video shoots, and running the social media accounts of the business.
"I was trying to manage the heartbreak and the shock combined with keeping the business afloat," she noted, adding she tried to steer clear of the personal comments on her business pages.
Lilly Sabri mentioned that until the podcast launch, she had been open about her life on social media. When asked whether that affected the spread of the rumor, she stated:
"I truly don't know the answer to that. I think when I compare to some other people, I didn't show a lot of my lifestyle. But it was clearly enough for people to put two and two together."
The 34-year-old YouTuber who has 6 million subscribers on the channel explained that it was possible that if she shared less about her personal life, the interest would have also been less. However, she admitted that she shared details about her life to help her brand grow, which was a good strategy for a long time, until it wasn’t.
"I've learned people will constantly want more, the more you give. If it's just showing your dog, or sharing your relationship, it's like 'okay, what else, now show the house.' It can lead to a lot of exposure because you're chasing likes or you feel that's what your customers want," Lilly explained.
She wrapped up by saying she wasn’t going to show her “personal relationships” anymore, as she’d been “too scarred” and couldn’t go through the same thing again. However, Lilly Sabri acknowledged that she was in a better headspace today, and her nutrition app, Lean With Lilly, food brand Lean Foods, and wellness videos were booming.
Lilly Sabri has made her social media comeback
On April 21, 2025, Lilly Sabri shared footage of her BBC interview on her Instagram, which also marked her social media return. She shared she was “happy” to “reintroduce” herself and mentioned that her company, LEAN, which she founded in 2017, was “once again mine.”
“I am the sole Shareholder of LEAN @leanwithlilly @lean.foods and, even more importantly, I am a much happier, healthier, and better person. The last year and a half has been incredibly challenging, and at times, it got dark. I didn’t know how I’d make it through,” she wrote in the caption.
Lilly Sabri explained she was recovering after her “world fell apart” in late 2023 and everything she’d known and trusted “blew up in front of millions of people.”
She reiterated her comments from the interview and mentioned she chose to step away from the “public eye” as her “mental and physical health took a massive hit” and she “needed time away.”
However, while she lost brand deals, she was thankful that her community, fans, and social media followers stood by her. Lilly Sabri shared hiring an “incredibly talented, truly global, female team, working together to have a positive impact on the fitness, wellness, and tech space,” adding they have a long way to go.
While Lilly Sabri slammed the podcast hosts for not doing the “right thing” and choosing to “capitalize on an incredibly painful situation,” The Girls Bathroom podcasters, Sophia Tuxford and Cinzia Baylis-Zullo, denied accountability, as per BBC.
However, at the time the gossip broke, they tried to protect the identities of those involved and even used fake names to share Lilly Sabri and Alex Tyrwhitt’s story, news.com.au reported.
When the rumors surfaced in 2023, the psychotherapist confirmed that it was “true” and “devastating.” She also mentioned calling off her engagement and ending her six-year-long relationship. Tyrwhitt has never addressed the accusations publicly to date.
