A British social media star with millions of followers has admitted to faking her own cancer diagnosis, leaving many of her loyal fans in shock. Now someone who grew up in her hometown has spoken out
Behind her polished outfit of the day videos, baby-led weaning tips and supermarket shopping hauls, British mumfluencer Brittany Miller was hiding a dark secret that she never wanted to face.
The 29-year-old, a proud wife-to-be and mum of two beautiful twin boys Elijah and Emiliano, has millions of followers who watch her every move online. Over the space of a few short years, she’s managed to perfect her lucrative online persona by portraying herself as a down-to-earth, budget fashion-lover who shares relatable parenting struggles with her TikTok audience.
But the illusion came crashing down this week when a tearful Brittany set up her camera and filmed an apology video for faking stage three gastric cancer, duping her friends and family into setting up a fundraiser to raise money for treatment and support.
READ MORE: TikTok mumfluencer faked cancer, made cash then ‘buried lies with devious trick’READ MORE: ‘I send Lucy Letby Christmas cards and Disney gifts but prison has made bizarre change’READ MORE: Davina McCall’s health woes from drug addiction hell to cancer diagnosis after key sign
For many of her loyal followers, the scam came as a gut-wrenching shock as few people are fortunate enough to not have been affected by the disease in some way, be it themselves, family or friends. It’s near impossible to comprehend lying about such a devastating condition, but now Brittany has broken her silence on how the shocking scam came to be.
“I never wanted to talk about this time in my life because it was a very difficult time for me, but I owe it to my followers and people who support me to tell you my truth,” she said in a tearful video on Monday. The influencer then explained that in 2017 she had been suffering from “extremely bad mental health” and was “depressed and suicidal, lost and confused”.
The mum revealed she lost her partner and her job, and that “lots of things led me to being mentally ill”. Brittany added that she “deeply regretted” telling one friend in confidence that she “had an illness, which was cancer”, describing it as “one stupid sentence that I deeply regret”.
But how does a viral influencer constantly in the spotlight keep such a huge, devastating secret for nearly a decade? Back in 2017, Brittany was a little-known 21-year-old living in Oxfordshire, dreaming of becoming a major social media star. Her small online following was heartbroken when she suddenly revealed she had been diagnosed with stage three gastric cancer.
Friends quickly rallied around her and a crowdfunding page was launched to offer financial support. But as swiftly as her cancer announcement spread, it vanished without explanation. The diagnosis was never mentioned again, and any trace of the story seemed to disappear from the internet.
It wasn’t until 2020, when Brittany partnered with a breast cancer awareness charity, that her former best friend decided to come forward – revealing the entire illness had been fabricated. The influencer had seemingly pleaded for cash to help fund treatment for a cancer that didn’t exist.
These claims circulated online for years, but this week is the first time that Brittany has ever addressed the rumours, sensationally admitting to her web of lies. But despite the deception, she’s kept a staunchly loyal fan base with 3.5 million followers on TikTok and brand deals with major fast fashion labels like Shein.
A source who knew Brittany while growing up in Bicester also told The Mirror that the influencer has managed to deceive her audience for so long by using a disturbing social media tactic. “People from our hometown have known about this years, but it has taken a long time for it to come out because she has since moved away,” they said. “She also has a filter on her comments so any words relating to the story never appear and she actively deletes any that make it through, and blocking the person making the comment.”
Meanwhile, in a lengthy post exposing Brittany, her ex-pal Beth wrote online: “Brittany was my best friend from the age of 16 through to 21. Brittany lied about some really awful things that I do not feel comfortable writing on social media, but the latest confession was that in November 2017 she was diagnosed with stage 3 gastric cancer. When I found out I did all the research I could to help her, made her a hamper up of all good products and food that could help her, looked after her, cooked for her, transferred her money to get to her radio therapy appointments/anything she needed.”
Sharing an old selfie with the influencer, she claimed: “She would fall out with me if I was spending time with my family and not her, she would get nasty if I didn’t want go on a night out with her because I was concerned about her illness, she used to make scenarios up such as: ‘It’s the end of my three month radio therapy session. The tumour has shrunk. Please you have to come for a drink with me?’… She also set up a GO FUND ME PAGE and asked I send it to everyone we used to work with to donate to it.”
In a bid to set the record straight, Brittany insisted in her video that she didn’t do it for “malicious intent or to scam people.” She continued: “I did it to keep the people in my life close to me. I don’t condone it, I understand why I did it, and I’ve learned from my mistakes. This was not a long running scam.”
Brittany also claimed it was her friends who set up a fundraising page in her name, but she had it immediately taken down when she saw that there donations had been made. “And I am so deeply sorry to anyone who I have triggered, for saying what I said,” she added. “This was years before I was on social media, I didn’t do this for likes or followers. I know how horrible this disease is, and I am so so sorry. I admitted what I did and I said sorry to the people that I hurt.”
Since her teary-eyed video, the influencer has posted a new clip giggling with her twin babies at home in her pyjamas. The caption reads: “My happy place” with a love heart emoji, with Brittany seen cradling one of her sons in her arms while the other runs to the camera.
Hitting out at her “haters”, Brittany responded to one of her fans sharing their support. Ava Lily Rose wrote: “Seriously what do people commenting hate even get from it. They achieve NOTHING.”
And the cancer scammer mum replied: “It makes them feel better about themselves… bless them!”
The Mirror contacted Brittany, her management agency and JustGiving for comment.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
