Bride and Prejudice star Dannii Erskine debuts her new romance after ‘fake death’ fiasco

Controversial Bride and Prejudice star Dannii Erskine has found love.

Just weeks ago, Dannii found herself at the center of an outrageous “fake death” scandal.

False reports of her passing circulated online after a gossip podcast claimed she had been killed in a horrific car accident, sparking outrage among her loved ones and fans.

She appears to have bounced back from the drama and on Sunday she shared a photo to her Instagram story locking lips with a mystery man, leaving fans and followers eager for more details.

The cryptic caption accompanying the image read: “Cat is out of the bag.”

She appears to have bounced back from the drama and on Sunday she shared a photo to her Instagram story locking lips with a mystery man, leaving fans and followers eager for more details.

It comes after Dannii denied faking her own death, telling Daily Mail Australia that the entire saga was a vicious prank orchestrated by an obsessed fan from the Geelong region who hacked into her social media accounts.

In the picture, a radiant and smiling Danni looks happy and content in her new relationship with the tall, dark and handsome man.

It comes after Dannii denied faking her own death, telling Daily Mail Australia that the entire saga was a vicious prank orchestrated by an obsessed fan from the Geelong region who hacked into her social media accounts.

The death hoax started when a person claimed to be Dannii’s ‘sister’. Dee said the TV star died in hospital following a horrific car crash in North Melbourne that left her brain dead.

An obituary also appeared on Dannii’s hacked Instagram account.

“I didn’t fake my own death. There has been too much loss [among the Bride and Prejudice cast] as it is, and we all know how sad that has been,” she said.

“Not only is it disgusting and cruel, it’s humiliating for everyone – not just myself, but my family as well. If I wanted to disappear I would just close everything [social media accounts] down. It’s really just common sense; I do not understand.’

An irate Dannii said she was especially “disgusted” by her ex-husband Denton Ansley, who she hasn’t spoken to in 18 months, because she spoke out before knowing if she was really dead.

“I am disgusted with my husband – my ex-husband, sorry – for the way he has gone on and talked about me. I would never, in my entire life, if the tables were turned, would do something like that to someone,” she said.

“My poor family was inundated with so many calls. This whole experience has been just awful,” she said

Dannii said she had an “extremely stressful two weeks” in the aftermath of the hoax.

The emotional toll was evident when Dannii spoke about the brutal cyberbullying she faced from trolls who falsely accused her of faking her own death.

“This is why people commit suicide,” she said.

‘They’re mean. What people write behind it [my back] because they are too scared to come and confront me. They write behind a keyboard and they say all those nasty remarks when they can’t look me in the face.’

The death hoax started when a person claimed to be Dannii’s ‘sister’. Dee said the TV star died in hospital following a horrific car crash in North Melbourne that left her brain dead.

This obituary also appeared on Dannii’s hacked Instagram account

When asked why she didn’t immediately stop reports of her death, Dannii said she was “advised not to comment or post” on social media as she was in hospital recovering from foot surgery at the time.

“They said, ‘You have to focus on your recovery. This is just going to stress you out,'” she explained. “Mental health is a huge thing these days, and people don’t understand that things like this are wrong and disgusting.”

Dannii further revealed that she was “incredibly sore” following ankle reconstruction on May 1, which resulted from injuries sustained in a “real car accident” in September 2022.

Dannii said the September collision led to her being hospitalized and requiring three months of rehabilitation.