Influencer known for her 2.2 m height dies at 26 before planned brain tumor surgery

Xiaoyue, a Chinese influencer known online for her 2.2 m height, died of illness at home in Sichuan Province, aged 26.

Her partner, Zihao, announced her death the same day on Oct. 11 in an obituary on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, and shared a death certificate issued by a residents' committee in Neijiang City.

The couple drew a following with videos of their daily life built around their 52 cm height gap, with Zihao standing 1.68 m. As of Oct. 12, her Douyin account had about 90,000 followers and his about 146,000, Cover News reported.

In July, Zihao said in a video that Xiaoyue had been found to have a pituitary tumor and a meningioma, a tumor that grows from the membranes covering the brain. Tests later also showed high blood sugar and kidney failure, he said.

Her own account stopped posting after Aug. 18. Her last video carried a caption saying that however hard life was, there was still warmth holding her up.

A benign pituitary tumor is the most common cause of gigantism, a very rare condition in which the body produces too much growth hormone during childhood, according to MedlinePlus, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's health information site.

Zihao told Red Star News that Xiaoyue had been diagnosed with pituitary gigantism and secondary diabetes. He took her to the countryside to rest, planning for surgery once her blood sugar came down, but she died suddenly before the operation.

"The doctor told me it was actually a very, very mild illness, and that a minimally invasive procedure to remove the tumor in her head would be enough," he said. "I never imagined this illness could take someone's life."

He described Xiaoyue as cheerful and unbothered by what others said. Many people had assumed the couple's videos were fake, he said, "and we didn't know how to defend ourselves."

Doubts over the couple's videos

Some viewers had questioned whether the couple's relationship, and the birth of their child announced in October 2025, were scripted for views, Cover News reported.

Xiaoyue's elder sister, surnamed Yang, told the outlet on Oct. 12 that Xiaoyue had been cremated and buried the day she died.

Asked about the relationship and the child, the sister said she did not know, calling it Xiaoyue's private matter. She asked the public to respect the dead and stop digging into whether the videos were real.