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Shocking new details have surfaced about the mysterious death of transgender reality star Miriam Rivera.

Miriam, who appeared on British dating show There's Something About Miriam and Big Brother Australia in 2004, died aged 38 in Hermosillo, Mexico on February 5.

Her death wasn't reported until this week, and Daily Mail Australia can now reveal that family members were 'threatened' if they tried to investigate what happened.

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Mysterious death: Miriam Rivera's family members were 'threatened' if they tried to investigate the circumstances of her death. Pictured on June 11, 2004 in Queensland, Australia

In an exclusive interview from his home in New York, Miriam's husband Daniel Cuervo said that he suspects she met with a violent end. 

Mr Cuervo claimed an unknown male had called him when he was trying to arrange Miriam's funeral and said: 'Don't come back to Mexico or we'll kill you too.' 

He later found out her body had already been cremated, leaving no opportunity to perform an autopsy, which he found 'very suspicious'.

Because he feared for his safety, Mr Cuervo wasn't able to arrange a proper funeral for his wife. Photos have since surfaced on Facebook of a decidedly low-key memorial service. 

Threat: Miriam's husband Daniel Cuervo (left) claimed an unknown male called him when he was trying to arrange Miriam's funeral and said, 'Don't come back to Mexico or we'll kill you too'

Miriam first made headlines in 2004 as the star of There's Something About Miriam (pictured), a controversial dating show about a group of men trying to win her heart before discovering she was born a man

Mr Cuervo believes his wife's death may have been 'passed off' as a suicide after she refused to accept work as a prostitute for a man who was 'infatuated' with her. 

He recalled of the day Miriam died: 'On the morning of February 5, Miriam called me [in New York] from Mexico, telling me she was feeling sick and vomiting blood, so I told her to get to the hospital.

'She called me again before leaving the hospital at 12pm and that was the last time we spoke.'

At 2pm, Miriam was found dead by hanging at her home in Hermosillo. 

Mystery: Mr Cuervo believes the death of his wife, who appeared on Big Brother Australia (pictured), may have been 'passed off' as a suicide after she refused to accept work as a prostitute for a man who was 'infatuated' with her

Heartbreaking: Because he feared for his safety, Mr Cuervo (pictured) wasn't able to arrange a proper funeral for his wife

Farewell: Photos have since surfaced on Facebook of a decidedly low-key memorial service. While the service was arranged to look like an open casket, Mr Cuervo insists his wife was cremated soon after her death

Rest in peace: This photo, shared to Facebook by Miriam's friend Jeanett Ørtoft, was taken at the reality star's funeral

Miriam's close friend Jeanett Ørtoft also echoed similar sentiments about the death being suspicious.

'Some say she was killed for going against human trafficking, others say that she took her own life,' she said.

The news of Miriam's death shocked Ms Ørtoft, who said her friend was 'looking forward' to the future when they last spoke.

'The last time I was on the phone with her, a few weeks before her death, she told me she was just about to finish a degree and was looking forward to that,' Ms Ørtoft said. 'She told me she wanted to write a book about her life.' 

'Some say she was killed for going against human trafficking': On Wednesday, Miriam's friend Jeanett Ørtoft (right, with Miriam in an undated photo) echoed similar sentiments about the death being suspicious  

In 2007, Miriam had nearly died in an unrelated incident that took place in New York. 

According to reports, she fell out of the fourth-storey window of her apartment while trying to escape from a burglar.

But Ms Ørtoft disputes this, claiming that a group of men had actually tried to murder her.

'Some masked men threw [Miriam] out from the fifth floor [of her apartment] and she broke almost every bone in her body,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'I didn't know her at the time, but I can only imagine that it has a big impact on your trust in people when you've been a victim of attempted murder.'

Duped: Miriam rose to fame in 2004 as the star of There's Something About Miriam (title screen pictured), a controversial dating show about a group of men trying to win the heart of the then-21-year-old Mexican model, only to discover in the last episode she was born a man

Miriam first made headlines in 2004 as the star of There's Something About Miriam, a controversial dating show about a group of men trying to win the heart of the then-21-year-old Mexican model, only to discover in the last episode she was born a man. 

While the show may seem exploitative by today's standards, she claims to have enjoyed her notoriety.

Despite widespread criticism and 'personal injury' lawsuits filed by the disgruntled male contestants, the show was a ratings hit for Sky One in the UK and was later aired in Australia on Channel 10.

At the height of her popularity Down Under, she made a highly-publicised guest appearance on Big Brother Australia's fourth season, which was watched by millions.

Before entering the Big Brother house, she spoke with host Gretel Killeen about the dangerous reality of growing up as a transgender woman in Mexico.

'You have to be really strong, I went through a lot. You have no idea what I went through, it's not even funny,' she said. 'But I'm a strong woman!'

Remember this? Miriam is pictured greeting housemates on Big Brother Australia in 2004

Revealed: The story behind There's Something About Miriam

There's Something About Miriam was  a British reality TV show created by Remy Blumenfeld and Gavin Hay and produced by Brighter Pictures, a subsidiary of Endemol.

The program was filmed in 2003, and aired on Sky One in the UK and Channel 10 in Australia the following year amid great controversy.

It also aired in Poland and Argentina in 2005, before being broadcast in the United States in October 2007.

Pictured: Miriam Rivera in the finale of There's Something About Miriam, which first aired on Britain's Sky One channel in 2004

The dating show followed six single young men trying to win the heart of Miriam, a Mexican model.

The participants were not told that Miriam was biologically male (i.e. a pre-op transgender woman) until the finale, when she picked a winner.

According to producers, some of the men had suspected that Miriam was not biologically female during filming.

The show's winner, Tom Rooke, accepted the £10,000 prize money and a holiday with Miriam, but was still visibly shocked by the revelation.

But Rooke later rejected the prize prior to the show airing and joined the other contestants in a lawsuit. 

Shock twist: The contestants on There's Something About Miriam were not told that Miriam was biologically male (i.e. a pre-op transgender woman) until the finale, when she picked a winner. Pictured on Queensland's Gold Coast on June 3, 2004

The men alleged conspiracy to commit sexual assault, defamation, breach of contract, and personal injury in the form of psychological and emotional damage.

They eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.

There's Something About Miriam has been widely described as 'cruel' and 'exploitative', and a similar format is yet to be reproduced anywhere in the world. 

In 2010, Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper reported that Miriam was working as a '£300-an-hour escort' in Knightsbridge, West London, in order to pay medical bills stemming from the 2007 incident in New York.

She said: 'I do absolutely everything – I do a full service [full sex]. Once you have paid for me, you can do whatever you want.

'The men I meet are hot. Some of them I'm even surprised at because they're well-known, rich, eligible men. Big boys, you know – businessmen, singers, actors.

'They take me to the best restaurants and fly me abroad. They pay for my companionship and we only have sex if I want to. It's voluntary.

'But most of the time they are so hot I end up being the one begging them. I have no regrets – I'm having fun. I started doing this for the money and when everything is sorted I will stop.'  

Prostitution: In 2010, Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper reported that Miriam was working as a '£300-an-hour escort' in Knightsbridge, West London. Pictured in Poland in 2005

Remy Blumenfeld, the British television producer who created There's Something About Miriam told Daily Mail Australia this week he was 'very saddened to learn of Miriam's death at such a young age.'

'She was a warm, loving and generous human being, with huge courage and personal grace,' he said.

'As a teenager in rural Mexico she found the strength and self belief to challenge the pervasive prejudices and agreements about gender, growing up without seeing any trans people on TV.

'She was committed to becoming a trailblazer. First as a talented singer and subsequently as a TV star, Miriam went on to become one of the world's first visible trans stars.

'She was forced to confront prejudice throughout her life but in recent years she took great pleasure in the popularity of shows such as Transparent and POSE which prominently feature trans characters.'

Miriam on Big Brother Australia

Miriam is better known in Australia for appearing on the local version of Big Brother than she is for There's Something About Miriam.

She entered the house, located within the Dreamworld amusement park on Queensland's Gold Coast, late in the game as an 'intruder'.

Host Gretel Killeen introduced her as 'the famous, the infamous, the beautiful Mexican model with that little extra something!'

Remember this? Miriam (centre) is pictured with Big Brother contestants, including Bree Amer, Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald and Merlin Luck, on June 11, 2004

The contestants were not told beforehand about Miriam's arrival, or her true gender, and she entered the house using the alias 'Maria'.

On her first day, she taught the Big Brother stars, including Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald and Bree Amer, how to salsa dance as part of a challenge.

On day two, she was introduced to an Australian delicacy: Vegemite on toast.  

After much speculation, she was eventually confronted about her gender in the house, and revealed: 'I wasn't born as a woman. I was born as a man.' 

Coming clean: On her second day in the house, the Big Brother contestants began speculating about Miriam's gender. She eventually told them: 'I wasn't born as a woman. I was born as a man'

Former TV producer Rob McKnight told Daily Mail Australia that Miriam 'certainly had an impact on the world' during her brief time in the spotlight.

'There's Something About Miriam aired here on Channel 10 and I remember it well,' said McKnight, who is the editor of respected industry website TV Blackbox.

'While it wasn't a ratings success in Australia it certainly created headlines with its unexpected twist. It was daring, confronting and changed the rules of reality television. No longer could participants looking for their 15 minutes of fame be guaranteed of a safe run, they now knew that by going on these shows anything could happen.

'Of course there was always the ethical question on whether it was fair to those taking part, but it certainly made for compelling television.

'There's Something About Miriam was the kind of show that will forever be known as a game changer. Even if you never watched it you have most probably heard about it. The show was so big at the time Ricky Gervais was even talking about it on his XFM radio show.

'Just like Big Brother, this show had a twist so shocking people wanted to see how it played out.

'The success and notoriety of the show led to Miriam being asked to appear on the local series of Big Brother here in Australia. She certainly had an impact on the world and I hope she eventually found happiness.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel 10, the network that aired Miriam's season of Big Brother Australia, for comment.

• If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.  
• For confidential support in the UK, call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit a local branch. See www.samaritans.org for details.
• For confidential support in Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au. Alternatively, call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800

Gone too soon: Remy Blumenfeld, the British TV producer who created There's Something About Miriam told Daily Mail Australia that he was 'very saddened to learn of Miriam's death'