Jeff Thomas (model)

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Jeff Thomas
Born1987[1]
United States
DiedMarch 8, 2023(2023-03-08) (aged 35–36)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Occupation(s)Model, social media influencer

Jeffrey Robert Thomas (1987 – March 8, 2023) was an American model and social-media influencer. He was known for his modelling career, and for his widely publicized relationship with billionaire Peter Thiel, his collaboration with Democratic researchers who were investigating Thiel, as well as his sudden death, which was ruled a suicide by Miami police.

Early life and career

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Thomas began modeling in his twenties. By 2013, he was active in New York and working with photographers like Tony Duran and Justin Clynes.[2][3][4] He was represented by Wilhelmina Models in New York, Chosen Models in Chicago and Kim Dawson Agency in Dallas.[2] In 2014, STYLECASTER listed him as one of the promising young male models, noting that, "Originally from Texas, Jeff now travels the world and recently walked in the DSQUARED fashion show at Life Ball 2014 in Vienna."[5] He also modeled for ADAM NYC.[6] He also appeared on the Italian Magazine for Fashion, represented by the agency Independent Men.[7] By 2016, he was also represented by Wilhelmina Models in Miami, doing advertising for Calvin Klein and Diesel.[8] At some point, he signed with AMCK Models. He was active on social media, gaining over 120,000 Instagram followers, where he documented his work in fashion, fitness, and travel. His bio described him as an "Aspiring Fire Fighter" and "Proud Dog Dad".[9][10]

He founded an art consulting and creative agency called One Popsicle, promoting emerging artists and brands.[11]

Relationship with Peter Thiel and collaboration with Democratic researchers

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Thomas was reported to have entered a romantic relationship with billionaire investor Peter Thiel at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] The relationship was described by some reports as financially unequal; Thomas referred to himself as being "kept", citing gifts such as a $300,000 car and a luxury home.[13] Thomas said he knew Thiel supported the Republicans and Thomas disliked that, but as his father was also Republican and he grew up in Texas, so he felt he could reach people who thought differently.[12]

Before his death, Thomas reportedly encouraged Thiel to withdraw from politics and expressed discomfort with Thiel's associations with Donald Trump.[14] Another politician whom Thomas criticized, was Blake Masters, who was anti-gay according to Thomas.[14] According to the article "The Death of Peter Thiel's 'Kept' Romantic Partner Is Being Investigated as a Suicide" from The Intercept, Thomas tried to dissuade Thiel from his increasingly aggressive pursuit of a culture war — one Thomas warned was hurting their community: "I don’t side with him on a lot of political things, but I understand him."[12]

Shortly before his death, Thomas decided to work with Democratic researchers to push Thiel out of politics. He was approached in October 2022 by operatives linked to Democratic opposition researcher Jack Bury, a protégé and associate of David Brock. Bury was leading a donor-funded effort to gather damaging personal intel on Thiel in hopes of diminishing his political influence before the midterms. Bury's associate Ryan Kenney arranged a meeting at the Beverly Hills Hotel. On November 4, 2022, Bury texted Thomas directly about the ongoing work of reporter Ryan Grim (who later wrote the article "The Death of Peter Thiel's 'Kept' Romantic Partner Is Being Investigated as a Suicide" for the Intercept) concerning Thiel and Thomas, "Ryan [Grim] proposed at least having a conversation with him about what you're comfortable with having printed and what you want redacted. He's an honest journalist [...] and being offered the option to approve a reporter's final draft beforehand is super rare [...] But I pushed for that because I like you & I didn’t want you to be caught off guard. Your name will be in print anyway, so why not control it and be protected?" After a lunch meeting, Thomas was persuaded to cooperate.[15]

But over the time, Thomas reportedly became emotionally conflicted about the collaboration and distraught about the possibility of having his name appear in the news. At the time, Thomas' friends as well as some of his Republican family members had advised him not to talk, while Thiel encouraged him to move to Miami to escape the media scrutiny after hearing him speak about it.[15]

Death

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According to some sources, in late December 2022, Thomas attended a New Year's Eve party hosted at Thiel's Miami Beach compound, although he was not invited. Thiel's spouse, Matt Danzeisen, reportedly confronted Thiel after discovering Thomas among the guests and asked, "Why is he here?" Thomas was subsequently escorted from the property by security personnel on Danzeisen's order.[16] Thomas's friends said that Thomas had not known Danzeisen would be present at the party. The incident was deemed humiliating and added to Thomas's stress.[16][17] Puck said Thiel's circle denied that the confrontation happened.[15] According to the German edition of Business Insider, another friend of Thiel said that there was an argument, but Danzeisen had always known about the existence of Thomas just like other people. The source also said that the relationship between Thiel and Danzeisen was stable, and Thiel would never divorce Danzeisen. The friend implied that Thomas was originally from a group of "party boys", from whom billionaires usually chose their lovers.[18]

Thomas was found dead on March 8, 2023, at the bottom of an apartment building in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami, Florida.[9] The Miami Police Department investigated his death, which was ruled a suicide.[15]

Aftermath and media response

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The Intercept notes that the Daily Mail published at least four stories on Thomas's death but did not mention his relationship with Thiel. One article quoted his agent speculating he fell while taking a selfie, a claim without evidence as the agent was not there, as Thomas's friends were calling for a thorough Miami police investigation.[12] His brother, Skylar Ray Thomas, stated that Jeff had experienced mental-health struggles and drug addiction.[12] A cousin of Thomas's did not believe it was a suicide.[16] Puck comment that certain media sources seemed to want to push Thomas's death close to Thiel. The outlet reports that other people, who had been promised "millions" to tell dirt on Thiel, felt "cornered or misled" due to the Bury team's aggressive tactics too.[15] Puck notes that a conversation among Bury's team members discussed how to establish trust with a "victim".[15][19]

Thiel refused to comment on Thomas's death, saying that Thomas's family demanded him to refrain from doing so.[20] Thomas's stepfather, who had raised him, said that Thomas died in a complicated situation and that he knew full details about the relationship between Thomas and Thiel, having spoken to Thiel many times (before his death, Thomas said he was "honest with my family about the relationship."[12])[15]

Coverage of Thomas’s death and the surrounding events sparked broader debate over power imbalances, privacy, and the intersection of wealth, sexuality, and political influence.[15][12][9] The Intercept comments that Thomas "spoke with several Democratic and progressive activists who are working to expose what they see as Thiel's hypocrisy," while while both of Thiel's prominent candidates, Vance and Masters, "ran heavily on culture war issues, portraying themselves as fighting for an America with traditional conservative values against the libertine coastal elites."[12] Miami New Times remarks that, to Thomas, "the relationship was at times a source of stress, and that he felt as if he was being shown off."[9] Theodore Schleifer of Puck wrote that the anti-Thiel campaign exposed an undercurrent in modern politics in which there is an increasing tendency towards using people's private problems to achieve political goals.[15] The Washington Free Beacon put the Thomas affair in perspective, noting that a similar strategy from researchers seemed to apply in the case of Pennsylvania's David McCormick, who was approached by a researcher who posed as a journalist.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Jeffrey Thomas Obituary - North Miami Beach, FL". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Jeff Thomas by Justin Clynes". Male Model Scene. 3 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Jeff Thomas by Tony Duran". Male Model Scene. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Jeff Thomas is Denim Clad for Shoot by Darren Tieste". The Fashionisto. 4 February 2015.
  5. ^ Tillman, Drew (20 June 2014). "21 Hot Male Models Taking Selfies (You're Welcome)". StyleCaster.
  6. ^ "Anastasiia Ivanova & Jeff Thomas by Christian Conti for Soma". DSCENE. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Alex Sanchez, Jeff Thomas, Matthieu Inglese, Rodrigo S. & Sebastian Slomkowski by Oskar Cecere for MFF Magazine". The Fashionisto. 28 February 2012.
  8. ^ "Adon Exclusive: Model Jeff Thomas By Alex Jackson". Adon | Men's Fashion and Style Magazine. 7 March 2016. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d "Miami Police Investigating Death of Peter Thiel's Reported Romantic Partner as Suicide". Miami New Times. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  10. ^ Sim, Bernado (16 March 2023). "Gay Model & Social Media Influencer Jeff Thomas Dead At 35 | Out.com". www.out.com.
  11. ^ Raiken, Amber (16 March 2023). "Model Jeff Thomas has died aged 35". The Independent.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Grim, Ryan (23 March 2023). "The Death of Peter Thiel's "Kept" Romantic Partner Is Being Investigated as a Suicide". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 30 January 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Death of GOP Billionaire Peter Thiel's 'Kept' Man Is Being Investigated as a Suicide". Jezebel. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  14. ^ a b Newsham, Jack (March 2023). "Peter Thiel's reported romantic partner was found dead in Miami. Police are investigating as possible suicide". Business Insider. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Thiel, Brock & a Gutter Oppo Campaign for Our Times". Puck. Archived from the original on 12 August 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  16. ^ a b c "Late Model/Influencer Jeff Thomas Attended BF Peter Thiel's New Year Party, Angering Thiel's Husband". Edge Media Network. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  17. ^ Benitz, Samantha (6 April 2023). "Revealed: Peter Thiel's 'Messy Confrontation' With Husband Over Rumored Lover Jeff Thomas Before Suspected Suicide". RadarOnline.
  18. ^ "Liaison von US-Model mit Peter Thiel endet in tragischem Unfall". Business Insider (in German). 9 April 2023.
  19. ^ a b Johnson, Eliana (17 August 2023). "Democratic Opposition Researcher, a Former '60 Minutes' Producer, Masquerades as Journalist While Digging Dirt on Pennsylvania's David McCormick". Washington Free Beacon.
  20. ^ Gellman, Barton (9 November 2023). "Peter Thiel Is Taking a Break From Democracy". The Atlantic.
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