A former competitive bodybuilder and Auckland-based fitness model, Raechelle Chase has died.

Chase, a mother of 5, had 1.4 million followers on Facebook, where she posted inspirational posts about staying fit as a single mum. She died earlier this month.

She was the first Kiwi woman to have taken part in the figure Olympia bodybuilding event back in 2011 in Las Vegas.

In recent years, she has worked as a fitness model and influencer who offered online fitness mentoring.

Her eldest daughter, Anna Chase, said her mum sacrificed so much to give her children an exciting life and managed to achieve every goal she set for herself.

”She was supportive, kind-hearted and always had the best advice for us. She was a wildly driven woman with ambition and has inspired millions of people around the world.

”I miss her immensely and that love won’t ever fade”.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice confirmed Chase’s death was active in front of the Coroner.

”Given the recent nature of the death, no further information is available at this stage,” the spokesperson said.

Keith O’Connell, a friend of Chase’s, said her death was “sudden and unexpected”, and she was one of the “kindest souls” he had known.

In 2016, Chase wrote an article for Stuff, detailing her separation from her husband, Chris Chase, which she said was “toxic and abusive”.

Chris Chase was imprisoned for 10 years after being arrested in 2012 for his role in distributing a designer drug, similar to ecstasy, around New Zealand.

“The relationship I was in taught me many things about what I don’t want, and what I need to steer very clear off. It wasn’t just me that suffered, it was my entire family,” Chase wrote.

“So if you know you are in an abusive relationship and you don’t have the courage to leave, do it for your children. Grab hold of whatever you need long enough to survive crawling out of that hole because I promise you it will be worth it.”