People all across America are selling their houses and quitting their jobs to travel the country and live out of an RV while documenting their adventures and gaining hundreds of thousands of followers along the way.
It’s a trend that has completely engrossed the nation, and we have Brianna Madia to thank, in part, for launching the phenomenon.
The Utah-native became one of the first van life influencers when she and her then-husband, Keith, moved into an RV together in 2016, and began showcasing the many highs – and lows – that came with their lifestyle on Instagram.
Immediately, people all across the globe became engrossed in watching her daily endeavors play out, living vicariously through their exciting lives.
Brianna Madia became one of the first van life influencers when she and her then-husband, Keith, moved into an RV together in 2016 and began showcasing their adventures online
But all of that came crumbling down thanks to a horrific life-threatening accident that lead to her losing her fanbase, marriage, and income
In 2018, Keith accidently hit one of their dogs with their van. Her mom started a GoFundMe but didn’t mention that Keith was the one who had run the pup over, and it lead to many accusing her of fraud
Brianna was on the top of the world, gaining a vast legion of dedicated fans as her social media platform grew – and having the time of her life while living on the road with her partner and two dogs.
But all of that came crumbling down thanks to a horrific life-threatening accident, which lead to a scandal that saw her accused of fraud and lying.
In 2018, her life was shattered when Keith accidently hit one of their dogs with their van, leaving the pup fighting for its life.
Desperate to save the dog, Brianna’s mom started a GoFundMe page and asked her followers for donations.
But she purposely didn’t mention that Keith was the one who had hit the dog, simply writing that the canine had been ‘involved in a car accident.’
And when the world found out that the detail had been left out, to say that people were upset would be an understatement.
Brianna, now 34, was soon subjected to thousands of horrific hate comments; people went out of their way to end every sponsorship and brand deal she had earned; they found where she was staying and posted her address online.
In one moment, Brianna practically lost everything – her marriage, fanbase, and income.
Now, the social media sensation-turned-author has spoken in detail to DailyMail.com about what she went through in the hopes of helping others who may be the victims of online hate
Things only got worse when she discovered that her now-ex-husband, Keith, had even participated in one of forums dedicated to hating on her – something she now describes as ‘the most brutal and horrific betrayal of her life.’
Devastated by the revelation, Briana contemplated ending her life and was forced to be hospitalized – but she was ultimately able to turn her life around.
She worked with a private investigator to uncover the identities of almost everyone who had been involved in the ‘harassment’ and posted a video exposing each of their names and locations in a response that was hailed by the fans who stuck by her as ‘legendary.’
She went on to release two books about everything she went through, and now, the social media sensation-turned-author has spoken in detail to DailyMail.com about her journey in the hopes of helping others who may be the victims of online hate.
While she does not shy away from the fact that not sharing the details of how her dog had ended up in the hospital was wrong, she insists that she only kept it from her fans because she wanted to ‘protect’ her ex-husband – something she now finds ironic considering how quickly he turned on her after their divorce.
She spoke in detail about everything from her dazzling rise to the top to the fateful day that changed everything – recalling how her poor pup bled for six hours as they raced to the nearest vet.
She also opened up about the GoFundMe scandal and her devastating descend from grace, which is now hailed by some as one of the most shocking downfalls that the internet has ever seen.
Making the switch to van life: Brianna sold all of her belongings and moved into a van with her then-husband Keith in 2016 – and she was skyrocketed into the spotlight after she began documenting it online
In February 2016, Brianna and her then-husband Keith purchased a 1990 Ford van for $8,000 and moved in to the vehicle with their two dogs, Bucket and Dagwood (seen)
She began showcasing the many highs – and lows – that came with their lifestyle on Instagram. And immediately, people all across the globe became engrossed. She’s seen in 2016
While chatting to DailyMail.com, Brianna explained that she spent years ‘constantly grinding’ so she could make money and ‘buy all this stuff,’ but eventually realized that she was unhappy and ‘needed to simplify things.’
In February 2016, at age 26, she and her then-husband Keith decided to purchase a 1990, bright orange Ford van for $8,000, got rid of almost all of their possessions, and moved in to the vehicle with their two dogs, Bucket and Dagwood.
At the time, she was working as a technical writer, while Keith was a ‘wilderness therapist.’
She began documenting almost every aspect of their lives online, but she had no idea that her platform would ever take off.
‘Back then, the term influencer didn’t quite exist yet,’ she revealed. ‘I had no idea that my account would ever bring me to this point where I’m talking to you.
‘It was not the plan from the start. It was more about… I was too scared to start a blog so I just started treating Instagram like a little blog.’
She theorized that people were drawn to her because she was ‘brutally honest’ about both the good parts and the bad parts of their lifestyle.
‘I was brutally honest from the start. I might have posted a pretty picture, but the caption was like, “So I pooped in a hole today,”‘ she shared.
‘I just really tried to keep it honest and I think that’s where I’ve found a lot of success. I really tried to use it as like a point of connection.
‘And I knew that what I was doing was cool and unique but I never set out to make people feel like I was cooler than them, or that I was doing something that nobody else could accomplish.
‘I was doing this cool stuff, but I was still deeply human and scared and uncertain.’
While reminiscing about her early months in the van with Keith, Brianna admitted that there were ‘plenty of times’ where she would ask herself, ‘Why am I doing this again?’
She theorized that people were drawn to her because she was ‘brutally honest’ about both the good parts and the bad parts of their lifestyle. She’s seen in the van in 2016
She said living in the van was often ‘gross and messy,’ but added, ‘It was fun. We didn’t really care. We almost felt like we were on the run from something, like we were breaking the rules’
As Brianna’s online fame grew, the brand deals began to pour in, and she eventually decided to quit her job to focus on making Instagram her sole income. She and Keith are seen in 2016
There was no running water in the van, so they usually went to the bathroom outside or in public restrooms; they heated up food on a small cook stove and slept in a bed in the back of the van.
She said it was often ‘gross and messy,’ and admitted that they would sometimes go quite some time before they found places that they could shower.
‘We smelled. Thank God Instagram wasn’t a scratch and sniff,’ she joked. ‘We were dirt bags.
‘But it was fun. We didn’t really care. We almost felt like we were on the run from something, like we were breaking the rules.
‘It was so rewarding. I think if it had just been like easy-peasy and we had a van that had all the amenities and whatever then I don’t think it would have been the same experience, I don’t think I would have grown as much as a person.’
She said living in the van made her learn to be ‘self sufficient,’ adding, ‘You have to figure out how to keep yourself alive.
‘It sounds like dramatic, but you have to figure out your day to day. It just forces you to be present in a way that I had never felt in any other sort of living situation. It keeps you humble, that’s for sure.’
As Brianna’s online fame grew, soon, the brand deals began to pour in. And she eventually decided to quit her job to focus on making Instagram her sole income.
‘It was terrifying, we we re going from benefits and a 401K and knowing exactly how much I was getting paid to – who knows when my next check is gonna come?’ she recalled.
The horrific accident that changed everything: Keith hit their dog with the van and when her mom started a GoFundMe for them but failed to mention that he was involved, many felt she was untruthful
In October 2018, Brianna’s life was changed forever when Keith accidentally hit their dog Dagwood (seen together) with the van
‘We’d let them out, and they’d run ahead of us down the road to the campsite,’ she recalled to DailyMail.com. ‘He lost his footing and just rolled and went under the back tire’
In October 2018, Brianna’s life was changed forever when Keith accidentally hit their dog Dagwood with the van.
‘As we would get to these dirt roads, the dogs would be so anxious, so we’d let them out, and they’d run ahead of us down the road to the campsite,’ she said, while discussing the accident.
‘We had done this hundreds of times, but I think my ex was driving a little too fast and the dogs were really trying to keep up on the side.
‘My other dog [Bucket] was all hyped up. They had been sitting inside the car all day. She went and tried to playfully lunge at Dagwood.
‘He lost his footing and just rolled and went under the back tire. And in that split second my entire life changed.’
Brianna explained that her dogs are like her ‘children’ and that she has ‘never loved anything as much as she loves them.’
Brianna explained that her dogs are like her ‘children’ and that she has ‘never loved anything as much as she loves them’
Brianna told DailyMail.com that within ’24 hours’ the vet bill had already racked up to more than $20,000. She’s seen with her two dogs
‘It became this race to get him help. We were in the middle of nowhere, and he was ripped open, bleeding. It took us six hours to get him to a hospital,’ she continued.
After Dagwood was ‘stabilized,’ Brianna said she felt like she had to share something online about what had happened.
She explained that her mother started the GoFundMe account after she saw how much Brianna was struggling. As for why she left out the fact that Keith had hit Dagwood, she said her mom felt it ‘wasn’t her truth to tell’
‘All of these people online knew Dagwood. They loved him,’ she explained. ‘All of a sudden I felt like I was really facing the reality of what I had done by putting my life out there.’
‘Dagwood was hit by a car yesterday. We had to drive him 300 miles to Bend, Oregon, to an emergency vet,’ her initial post about it read.
‘The prognosis is grim and I’ve been given enough Valium to be able to write this down.
‘They are trying to stabilize him before attempting any surgery. If he does survive, there will be long-term effects and months of recovery. Keep us in your thoughts. Not sure what else to say.’
Brianna told DailyMail.com that within ’24 hours’ the vet bill had already racked up to more than $20,000.
‘He needed blood transfusions, he ended up having seven different surgeries,’ she shared. ‘My ex and I lived on the floor of that veterinary hospital for 31 days.’
In the days following the accident, Brianna continued to gave updates to her followers, but still didn’t tell anyone that it had been Keith who had hit him
When asked why she kept it from her fans, she told DailyMail.com that she ‘couldn’t bring herself to admit something that she had personally’ come to terms with
‘I was doing everything in my power to protect my ex-husband,’ she added. ‘It broke him. It broke our marriage. I was trying to keep him from feeling guilt.’ Keith is seen with Dagwood
She explained that it was her mother who started the GoFundMe account after she saw how much Brianna was struggling, and that at first, she didn’t even ‘know it existed.’
As for why she left out the fact that Keith had hit Dagwood, she said her mom felt it ‘wasn’t her truth to tell.’
‘[My mom] logged into my Instagram, posted a link,’ she said. ‘We had already maxed out credit cards. I gave [the vet hospital] everything.’
When she discovered the page two days after it was created, it had already raised $32,000 for Dagwood.
In total, they received $95,197 in donations, and she credits the money with ultimately saving Dagwood, as she explained, ‘[The donators] are the reason that my dog is alive.’
In the days following the accident, Brianna continued to gave updates to her followers, but still didn’t tell anyone that it had been Keith who had hit him.
When asked why she kept it from her fans, she told DailyMail.com that she ‘couldn’t bring herself to admit something that she had personally’ come to terms with.
‘I was doing everything in my power to protect my ex-husband,’ she added. ‘It broke him. It broke our marriage. So I was trying to keep him from feeling so much guilt.’
Coming clean: As Brianna’s marriage crumbled, she decided it was time to confess – but a group of people started ‘harassing’ her, leading to her trying to take her own life
But as time went by, Brianna said many people online started to piece together what had happened and suspected that one of them had hit Dagwood
But as time went by, Brianna said many people online started to piece together what had happened and suspected that one of them had hit Dagwood.
She said she started to get terrifying DMs from people who would tell her that they ‘knew what she did.’
Her marriage was also crumbling, as she admitted that Keith ‘tried to numb’ the pain he felt from the accident and ‘started drinking a lot;’ they officially split in early 2020.
‘My whole life was falling apart, and it just pushed me over the edge,’ she shared. ‘I tried to take my own life.’
Finally, in July 2020, she decided she needed to come clean. In a lengthy post shared to Instagram, she spoke about exactly what happened the day Dagwood was hit.
She explained that she was driven to keep the details of the accident a secret due to her ‘shame.’
‘I should’ve stopped it,’ she added of the GoFundMe page in her Instagram post. ‘It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. And I should have stopped it.
‘But it was working. The money was keeping him alive. He was getting better, he was surviving and beating every odd.
‘For every day that Dagwood got better, I died a little inside. I felt like a monster. The shame swallowed both Keith and I, and I’d be lying if I said we ever came out of it.’
She said she was ‘terrified’ of telling the truth because she thought that meant she ‘wouldn’t be able to save him.’
‘I was terrified that our terrible mistake would overshadow the love you all so selflessly showed to a dog who deserved better than us,’ she wrote.
‘I don’t expect forgiveness. I’d be lying if I said I’ve forgiven myself. But I don’t want to have nightmares anymore. I don’t want you believing I am someone I’m not.’
While discussing the reaction with DailyMail.com, she said thousands of people said they ‘would have donated anyway and it didn’t matter.’
She came clean in July 2020 and offered refunds to anyone who wanted them. And while many people were supportive, some were not
She said those who were still outraged about what had happened became obsessed with trying to ‘cancel’ her, starting a forum on Reddit dedicated to hating on her
She also offered refunds to anyone who wanted them, and said only six people out of the 7,000 donators wanted their money back.
’99 per cent of the people were like, “That’s worse and we feel more for you now than we did in the beginning,”‘ Brianna said of the response.
‘It was humbling to realize, people would have been understanding. But I was so scared.’
But while many people were supportive, some were not. And those who were still outraged about what had happened became obsessed with trying to ‘cancel’ her.
They started a forum on a subreddit of Reddit called MadiaSnark, where they could ‘gather’ to discuss their ‘shared affinity’ of her.
They spent hours dragging her name and hating on almost every aspect of her life; they accused her of fraud, and tried to end her career by contacting her sponsors with ‘lies,’ with her telling DailyMail.com that she lost over $40,000 in brand deals.
They even threatened to kill her, leaked her address, posed as her friends, and ‘harassed’ her family members.
In a post about it shared in April 2021 about it, Brianna wrote, ‘Apologies and refunds weren’t enough for some people.
They accused her of fraud, and tried to end her career by contacting her sponsors with ‘lies,’ with her telling DailyMail.com that she lost over $40,000 in brand deals
They even threatened to kill her, leaked her address, posed as her friends, and ‘harassed’ her family members, she said
‘Some people felt I needed further punishment. So for the last nine months, I’ve been the target of a relentless and inescapable online harassment campaign.
‘These people began emailing me, posing as family members, screenshotting and photoshopping conversations to their liking.
‘They went after any and all of my friends in the public eye, harassing them purely for being associated with me. I started to feel like a burden for anyone to be around.
‘They emailed my publisher, my sponsors, every company I have ever tagged. They called hotels I stayed at, they attempted to contact my family members.
‘They called my realtor, they posted my address online, they posted the license plates of my rental cars, they make fun of how I look, they mock my divorce, they mock my mental health.
‘I was just starting to feel like the handful of people that hated me truly didn’t matter in comparison to the thousands and thousands and thousands of people who didn’t.’
The biggest blow of them all: Brianna was horrified to discover that her own ex-husband was heavily involved in the forum dedicated to hating on her
In October 2021, Brianna found out that her own ex-husband, Keith (seen together before the accident), had been one of the people heavily posting in the Reddit forum
But the biggest blow of them all came in October 2021, when Brianna found out that her own ex-husband, Keith, had been one of the people heavily posting in the Reddit forum.
‘That’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced in my life,’ Brianna told DailyMail.com. ‘Because he witnessed what it was doing to me.
Brianna described him as ‘spineless’ and ‘a coward,’ adding, ‘I haven’t spoken to him since. I’ll see him in hell’
‘He knew how much these messages that I was getting were absolutely destroying me.
‘I would cry hysterically in his arms about this. I felt like, “There’s no way he would never do this to me.”‘
She said their divorce had been extremely peaceful and that they had split everything 50/50.
‘What kills me the most is the lengths that I went to to protect him,’ she added. ‘My whole first book, I didn’t even use the word alcoholic [to describe him] because I did not want anyone to think poorly of him.
‘So it was the most brutal and horrific betrayal of my life. For years I bit my tongue, I did everything to protect him.’
Brianna described him as ‘spineless’ and ‘a coward,’ adding, ‘I haven’t spoken to him since. I’ll see him in hell.’
Firing back at her haters: The influencer uploaded a shocking video detailing her trolls’ names, locations, and occupations after years of ‘harassment, stalking, and defamation’
Last March, Brianna uploaded a video to YouTube detailing the names of many of the people who had been involved in the Reddit forum, as well as their locations and occupations
Last March, Brianna uploaded a video to YouTube detailing the names of many of the people who had been involved in the Reddit forum, as well as their locations and occupations.
While reflecting on it to DailyMail.com, she said a private investigator had seen everything she had endured and ‘reached out to her.’
‘She was like, “I don’t like bullies,” so she was slowly gathering information about these people,’ Brianna dished.
‘And by the time I finally agreed to get on the phone with her she had 150 people’s names.’
At first, she said she had no plans to expose them because she ‘didn’t want to do to them what they had done to her.’ But then, she realized how ‘dangerous’ it was to let it slide.
She first started sharing their identities on her Instagram Stories, and she said she was getting a slew of positive responses from people who were like, ‘F**k yes. Take these f**kers down.’ She then posted the 39-minute video to her YouTube channel.
‘I wanted to use my story as an example,’ she said. ‘I needed to do something for people who may be in similar positions to me’
‘We can’t protect people like this anymore. I wanted to use my story as an example, even though it’s embarrassing,’ she explained.
‘It’s embarrassing for me to be like, “Yeah, my ex husband participated,” and it sucks. But I needed to do something for people who may be in similar positions to me and have these same hate groups.
‘If I spread this story as far and as wide as I can, maybe it’ll make other people realize that you could be two clicks away from the same fate [as me].
‘I’m very angry and I intend to talk about this. I didn’t want this to be my story. They made this my story.
‘So I’m going to tell people what they did and they have to live with that. Maybe think twice the next time you say something horrible.’
She said many of the people she outed erased themselves from the internet and that she received ‘apology emails’ from about 25 of the hundreds who participated.
‘It was actual harassment, actual stalking, actual defamation, and they think because they’re on the internet, and it’s anonymous that it doesn’t count, and it f**king counts,’ she said.
Trying to move on: Brianna is now a successful author who has penned two books about her journey and has fallen in love again, but she is still haunted by everything that happened
Brianna has tried to turn what she went through into a positive, and she’s now focused on ‘grasping onto the amazing support’ that she’s received
She went on to release two books about her journey, called Nowhere for Very Long: The Unexpected Road to an Unconventional Life and Never Leave the Dogs Behind: A Memoir
She is now happily in love with a man named Willie Woodward, and they’re the midst of building their own home together and planning their wedding
Brianna has tried to turn what she went through into a positive. She went on to release two books about her journey, called Nowhere for Very Long: The Unexpected Road to an Unconventional Life and Never Leave the Dogs Behind: A Memoir.
The latter, which came out earlier this week, follows her ‘in the wake of a painful, public divorce and the ensuing fallout.’
Dagwood is doing great and she still has over 300,000 followers on her Instagram
She is now happily in love with a man named Willie Woodward, and they’re the midst of building their own home together and planning their wedding.
Dagwood, now 12 years old, is doing great and she still has over 300,000 followers on her Instagram.
‘I’m in a really good place now. I’ve met an amazing man and we will get married eventually,’ she gushed.
‘When you get that low and you feel that beaten down. There’s two choices, you can either to die or fight. Thankfully, I have the fight in me.’
But the author admitted that she is still plagued by what happened.
‘It sucks like, I feel like I will now forever be known as the girl who hit her dog – even though I wasn’t driving,’ she admitted.
‘It became a part of my identity. My marriage dissolved because of it. I have tried to take my life several times.
‘All these people who tortured me on the Internet, they don’t really even realize how much I tortured myself already.
‘I’m in a really good place now. I’ve met an amazing man and we will get married eventually,’ she gushed
She told DailyMail.com: ‘When you get that low and you feel that beaten down. There’s two choices, you can either to die or fight. Thankfully, I have the fight in me’
But she said she is still affected by what happened. ‘I live with it. Every day I see Dagwood’s scars. I see the arthritis forming in his leg from the accident. This is my life’
‘I live with it. Every day I see Dagwood’s scars. I see the arthritis forming in his leg from the accident. This is my life.
‘A handful of people still make sure that I can barely go a week, almost five years after the fact, without remembering what [happened]. It’s sick. It’s sadistic.
‘But ultimately, at the end of the day I wouldn’t change any of it, because my dog is here.’
She added that she’s now focused on ‘grasping onto the amazing support’ that she’s received
‘I think being able to share this story is deeply helpful,’ she explained. ‘The best revenge that I can think of is just like I’m still here.
‘I’m still doing all the things that piss you off. I’m pressing forward and living my life the way I want to, and I’m not afraid to talk about what happened even though in some ways I didn’t handle it right.
‘If they want to hold me accountable for the rest of my life. That’s fine. I’ll do the f**king same.’