EXCLUSIVE: 'We had a true love': Ex-girlfriend of 'magic' Tony Hsieh shares memories and photos of the troubled Zappos CEO, whose image changed from clean cut to party boy with Mohawk haircut and bloodshot eyes
A former girlfriend of Tony Hsieh has paid tribute to the Zappos CEO, describing him as her 'true love' and 'magic', admitting to DailyMail.com it's been difficult to talk about his death.
Alexandria Bevilacqua, a film and theatre actress who met Hsieh in 2008, wrote in an emotional message: 'We had a true love. Thank you for some of the best experiences of my life, most of which were just our conversations one on one. You changed so many lives for the better, including mine. I miss you so very much.'
Bevilacqua, 34, explained to DailyMail.com that she was 'close' with Hsieh but added their relationship 'flew under the radar' in his circle of friends.
'There's a lot to know about our relationship. It's been really really difficult and I haven't talked to many people, it's difficult to talk about it to be honest.
'I really would like people to know about his personal side. We were very close.
'All we've heard is from people with a business perspective, I'm hearing about someone I love and know but from an outsider's perspective.'
Bevilacqua said she and a few friends are planning to have a gathering in memory of Hsieh but she wouldn't be drawn on his drink and drug abuse.
But in a series of photos, shared on social media, Bevilacqua unwittingly reveals the the shoe magnate's health was deteriorating, with his image changing from clean cut to a party boy.
Hsieh, 46, died soon after being pulled from a burning shed attached to a waterfront home in New London, Connecticut, on November 18.
A former girlfriend of Tony Hsieh has paid tribute to the Zappos CEO, describing him as her 'true love' and 'magic', admitting to DailyMail.com it's been difficult to talk about his death. In one photo, which has a bar 'SPECIALS' blackboard in the background, Hsieh leans in and appears glassy-eyed and intoxicated
Hsieh face appears flushed and drawn and the entrepreneur is seen with severely blood-shot eyes as he poses with Bevilacqua in various scenarios
In many of the shots the couple appear to be partying with groups of people or in a bar
DailyMail.com exclusively revealed Hsieh's drug abuse was out of control at the time of his death and friends fear that his use of the laughing gas nitrous oxide and his candle obsession s could have caused the fire that killed him
At one stage during their relationship Hsieh shaved his hair into a mohawk style. Extreme hairstyles are often associated with drug use
BEFORE: In some of the earlier photos, taken after the pair met in 2008, a younger Hsieh appeared healthy and happy . Speaking to DailyMail.com exclusively Bevilacqua, a film and theatre actress, said she was 'close' with Hsieh but added their relationship 'flew under the radar' in his circle of friends
Bevilacqua, 34, who lives in Los Angeles, posted several photos of her and Hsieh on her Facebook profile with a moving tribute to her 'best friend, boyfriend, an ex, a partner, a mentor, a muse.'
In some of the earlier photos, taken after the pair met in 2008, a younger Hsieh appeared healthy and happy, smiling with his girlfriend while they lay back on a bed and in another shot he is seen kissing her on the cheek in a photo booth style montage.
But in more recent photos the deterioration in Hsieh's health became more and more evident with telltale signs of drug and alcohol abuse.
Hsieh face appears flush and drawn and the entrepreneur is seen with severely blood-shot eyes as he poses with Bevilacqua in various scenarios.
At one stage during their relationship Hsieh shaved his hair into a mohawk style. Extreme hairstyles are often associated with drug use.
In many of the shots the couple appear to be partying with groups of people or in a bar.
In one photo, which has a bar 'SPECIALS' blackboard in the background, Hsieh leans in and appears glass-eyed and heavily intoxicated.
DailyMail.com previously exclusively revealed Hsieh's drug use was becoming out of control and friends fear that his use of the laughing gas nitrous oxide and his obsession with candles could have caused the fire that killed him.
Grey Goose vodka was his 'best friend,' DailyMail.com learned, and he regularly used potent drugs like ketamine, while experimenting with psychedelic mushrooms and ecstasy.
In some of the earlier photos, taken after the pair met in 2008, a younger Hsieh appeared healthy and happy, smiling with his girlfriend while they lay back on a bed and in another shot he is seen kissing her on the cheek in a photo booth style montage
Bevilacqua said her and a few friends are planning to have a gathering in memory of Hsieh but she wouldn't be drawn on his drink and drug abuse
Explaining her heartfelt Facebook posts, she said: 'There's a lot to know about our relationship. It's been really really difficult and I haven't talked to many people, it's difficult to talk about it to be honest'
Speaking to DailyMail.com exclusively Bevilacqua, a film and theatre actress, said she was 'close' with Hsieh but added their relationship 'flew under the radar' in his circle of friends
In her Facebook message Bevilacqua wrote: 'Tony Hsieh ... we had a true love. The first time we met I saw a beam of light connecting us- heart to heart. All that's left now are these memories... but they do burn bright. Remember in Mexico when we laughed so hard on the beach surrounded by shells and you called it the beach of endless laughter? I see you there now.
'You were always willing to dance with me, to talk the big creative ideas or even the small ones. Remember when we went to see Santa and played in the park like kids? Played in many places like kids?
'With you the whole world was a playground. You took me to the sky and snow and business meetings and I took you to the theater and the art shows.
'Different as we seemed we were always able to keep in step with the other.'
She added they enjoyed families with their families and 'hundreds of great parties'.
She added: 'Days in bed reading with piles of books. Waking up at 4am to see 'You amazed me in ways I didn't know were possible. You were magic and you did magic. And your magic lives on. You wanted everyone to experience things they never had before, because that's what makes life alive. And you followed through.'
In another post she wrote: 'Thank you for some of the best experiences of my life, most of which were just our conversations one on one. You changed so many lives for the better, including mine. I miss you so very much.'
It's believed Bevilacqua wasn't dating Hsieh at the time of his death, although they were still close friends.
In her Facebook message she wrote: 'Tony Hsieh ... we had a true love. The first time we met I saw a beam of light connecting us- heart to heart. All that's left now are these memories... but they do burn bright. Remember in Mexico when we laughed so hard on the beach surrounded by shells and you called it the beach of endless laughter? I see you there now
She said: 'I really would like people to know about his personal side. We were very close, but our relationship kind of flew under the radar'
Sources say the actress was often on the scene in Las Vegas over the past two years and stayed in a cabin on the Airstream park Hsieh created in the Downtown area of the city
In another post she wrote: 'Thank you for some of the best experiences of my life, most of which were just our conversations one on one. You changed so many lives for the better, including mine. I miss you so very much'
Former Zappos CEO Hsieh, 46, had allegedly been hospitalized after smashing up his Park City, Utah, mansion and threatening to hurt himself
Sources say the actress was often on the scene in Las Vegas over the past two years and stayed in a cabin on the Airstream park Hsieh created in the Downtown area of the city.
But the entrepreneur was also known for juggling multiple women at the same time.
And one source said his 'one true love' was in fact Rachael Brown, a Zappos employee at whose home he was found in Connecticut.
This comes as police logs have revealed that worried friends called 911 on multiple occasions expressing concern for the safety of Hsieh in the months before his death from a house fire.
Records of calls to emergency services acquired by Business Insider also showed that Hsieh was transported to hospital in late June, where an anonymous friend asked that he not be released as it would 'be a problem'.
Former Zappos CEO Hsieh, 46, had allegedly been hospitalized after smashing up his Park City, Utah, mansion and threatening to hurt himself.
He spent at least $50 million as part of his plan to relocate to the millionaires' playground. Hsieh suddenly stepped down from Zappos in August after continuing to lead it for a decade after he sold the online shoe-seller to Amazon for $214 million.
His estimated wealth at the time of his death was $840 million. After his move to Utah, friends had warned Hsieh that he was living dangerously and was known to be constantly abusing drugs and alcohol.
Hsieh had allegedly finally come to admit that his addictions had gotten out of control and had accepted he needed help. Just before he died, he was making plans to enter a rehab clinic the very night before he died, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Hsieh, 46, was pulled unconscious from a burning shed attached to a waterfront home in New London, Connecticut, shortly after 3.30am on November 18. He died in hospital nine days later
The fire broke out around 3:30 am on November 18 at a $1.3 million waterfront home in New London, Connecticut, where Hsieh, former CEO of the giant Zappos empire and his brother had been staying
The multi-millionaire had been experimenting with psychedelic mushrooms and ecstasy. He had also reportedly become 'fixated' with what he could live without and would starve himself until he weighed under 100lbs.
He tried not to urinate and deprived himself of oxygen. Friends say he had been in a 'downward spiral' for months and had surrounded himself with 'yes' men as he slowly increased his drug and alcohol intake.
Three months before he died, he received a letter from Jewel, a singer and longtime friend of Hsieh.
The letter, which was obtained by Forbes, warned that Hsieh was at risk of being remembered as a drug addict and not the tech visionary he was.
She wrote that his current lifestyle choices were putting him in danger of crossing from 'eccentric to madness'.