Inside the final days of PR guru and 2000s ‘It boy’ Jai Evans before he died in his swanky high-rise apartment – as a friend reveals his worrying words the last time they saw him

Sydney publicist Jai Evans was “under pressure” at work and told a friend he “needed a drink tonight” during a dinner party, just weeks before he died in his city centre apartment.

Evans, 43, who worked as a PR executive with the likes of Lara Worthington in the 2000s, was found dead this week in the apartment he rented in the Horizon skyscraper complex in Darlinghurst.

No cause of death was released, but the PR industry was abuzz Friday with rumors that his body may have been in the unit for days before it was discovered. Police quashed the speculation by confirming in a statement that he had died on Wednesday.

A source told Daily Mail Australia last night that Evans is under He was under professional pressure after losing a number of clients and may also have been under financial pressure.

“Before he died he was under pressure from a big client and had to deliver for them. He was always under pressure,” said the insider, who last spoke to Evans in person at a dinner in Potts Point, Sydney, on August 22.

At that dinner, Evans said he “needed a drink,” despite having recently said he was sober.

“He also told friends that he had a lawsuit coming up that he was stressed about,” the source added. The nature of the legal matter remains unclear.

Despite his 20 years of PR experience, Evans had apparently “lost a few clients recently.” The insider added: “From what I could tell, he wasn’t getting any new clients, he was just working with his existing clients.”

Evans was living a life of luxury, renting a luxury apartment in the Horizon building – ‘which can’t have been cheap’ – leading the source to suspect he may have been struggling financially.

One of his last PR jobs was helping Married At First Sight stars Duncan James and Evelyn Ellis ‘hard launch’ their relationship in real life, after they were paired up with other people on the Channel Nine dating show.

Daily Mail Australia has learned that his partnership with James and Ellis did not last long.

In the period leading up to his death, Evans’ friends and acquaintances began to worry that the “social butterfly” would disappear from the radar for days at a time.

“He was social, but he could turn it on and off. He would disappear from the radar and make his Instagram private when he was under pressure,” one person said.

An insider remembered Evans fondly for his “gift of the gab” and said he was always the man you could ask to talk your way out of a situation.

“It is such sad news that he is no more,” they added.

It is unclear whether Evans was on drugs at the time of his death, but he was known to take “dexies,” a type of stimulant medication used to treat ADHD, which he handed out “like Tic Tacs” at parties.

Evans’ last public appearance was on August 22 at the aforementioned Potts Points dinner, which he attended along with several notable MAFS contestants.

After news of his death broke on Friday afternoon, unpleasant rumors began circulating about when Evans had died and how long his body would remain undiscovered.

A friend told Daily Mail Australia that he died last Sunday but was not found until Thursday, but The Daily Telegraph reported that he was found dead last Saturday.

But when asked for comment by Daily Mail Australia, a New South Wales police spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that Evans had died.

‘Officers from Kings Cross Police Area Command will prepare a report for the information of the coroner into the death of a 43-year-old man in a unit in Darlinghurst on 4 September 2024,’ they said.

‘The police will not make any further statements on the matter.’

His case of The cause of death is unknown, but police who arrived at the scene said there were “no suspicious circumstances.”

When police declare a death non-suspicious, it means they have found evidence that no third party was involved and that no crime was committed.

Bondi fitness entrepreneur Dan Wootton confirmed the news of Evans’ passing on Friday in a heartfelt tribute he shared on social media.

“RIP, Jai Evans. Another beautiful friend gone far too early before his time,” Dan wrote, alongside a photo of Evans in happier times.

“Your vibrant energy and willingness to help was unmatched. Rest in peace, Jai. Love you, mate.”

DJ Shiralee Coleman also paid tribute to Evans via Instagram Stories, sharing a recent photo of them together.

“Rest in peace sweetheart, I’m sure you’ll show them how it’s done in heaven,” the model and musician wrote.

She added that she would dedicate her DJ set at celebrity hotspot Nobu on Friday night to Evans. ‘I know how much he loved our Nobu nights.’

Evans had over twenty years of experience in the PR industry and worked with hundreds of media companies to help them with their PR strategies.

During his celebrated career, he founded his own company, Evans Media, in 2005 and worked as an advertising manager, publicist, magazine publisher, editor and all-round public relations expert.

Evans has helped many key players in the Australian media, including Channel Nine, Sky News, News Limited, BRW and Vogue, achieve their marketing goals.

The talent expert also boasts a host of celebrity friends, including model Lara Worthington and e-commerce queen Anastasia Fai Kogan.

He also had a brief acting career, appearing in Home and Away in 1997.

Fellow publicist Roxy Jacenko, who rose to fame with Evans on Sydney’s PR scene 20 years ago, praised him as a “real networker”.

“He was just like me, one of the new generation of PRs,” she told The Daily Telegraph.

‘He always had the prettiest girls to take to events [and was] always up for trying something different.’

Funnily enough, a friend of Evans’ contacted the Daily Mail Australia when he saw Jacenko’s quotes in the Telegraph. He wanted to make it clear that the two were not friends.

“He would turn in his grave if he saw that,” they said. “He didn’t like her. [Jacenko] not at all.’