“Sahara had been struggling with her mental health in recent years, and it was heartbreaking to witness someone we loved so deeply experience so much pain,” Ray’s good friend Jessica Serfaty exclusively told Page Six.
asserted
friend → struggle → Six
The “Days of Our Lives” alum — who met Ray in 2015 on set of DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean” music video, only to become inseparable for the next 11 years — explained that the late swimwear designer was “beginning an entirely new chapter of her life” after welcoming a baby girl just 11 months before her death.
asserted
designer → meet → death
“I think it’s important to remember that someone’s life can hold extraordinary beauty and profound pain at the same time,” Serfaty said, adding, “One doesn’t necessarily erase the other.”
asserted
One → think → other
Even during her most difficult moments, Ray had a close-knit circle of friends and family who stood by her side
“
asserted
who → have → side
came together on several occasions to figure out how best to support Sahara,” Serfaty said.
asserted
Serfaty → come → Sahara
“There were times when we gathered the people closest to her, trying to create a circle of love, stability, and support around her when we felt she needed it most.”
asserted
she → be → it
She added, “When you love someone who is struggling, you want so desperately to find the right words, the right solution, the one thing that might make everything better.”
uncertain
everything → add → words
Despite all of their efforts and love, Serfaty said there wasn’t “an easy answer” on how to help.
asserted
Serfaty → say → efforts
“But I hope Sahara always knew how deeply she was loved,” Serfaty said.
asserted
Serfaty → hope → ?
“There were so many people who cared for her, who showed up for her, and who wanted nothing more than to see her happy and at peace.”
asserted
her → be → peace
When asked what she wished people understood about Ray’s struggles, Serfaty said she hoped people would recognize just how lonely someone can feel, even when “surrounded by love.”
asserted
someone → ask → love
“You can have family, friends, a room full of people who adore you, even thousands or millions of strangers following your life and celebrating your beauty, and still feel completely alone,” she said, referring to Ray’s nearly 1 million followers on Instagram.
asserted
she → have → Instagram
“I think we sometimes confuse being admired with being understood, or being surrounded by people with feeling connected to them.
asserted
we → think → them
But those are very different things,” Serfaty said.
asserted
Serfaty → say → ?
The soap actress, 35, explained that no one really knows what anyone is fighting behind closed doors.
“
asserted
anyone → explain → doors
If there’s one thing I hope people take away from Sahara’s story, it’s to lead with compassion.
asserted
it → ’ → compassion
To check on the people who seem to have it all, the ones who make everyone else laugh, the ones who appear to be shining the brightest,” she said.
“Because sometimes those are the very people who need our tenderness the most.”
asserted
who → check → tenderness
Serfaty hopes Ray will be remembered for the joy she brought to those around her, rather than the challenges she faced toward the end.
asserted
she → hop → end
“She was so much more than the difficult chapters of her life,” she said, describing her late friend as a woman full of “laughter, adventure, mischief, tenderness, and magic.”
asserted
she → say → laughter
“She was the girl who would turn an ordinary afternoon into a memory you’d carry for the rest of your life,” Serfaty recalled.
asserted
Serfaty → turn → life
She also remembered Ray’s love for animals and nature, her generosity toward others and her “beautiful” ability to make life feel “a little less ordinary.”
asserted
life → remember → others
“I hope people remember the girl dancing on the beach, the fairy wandering through the redwoods, the friend who always made room for one more person at her table,” she said.
asserted
she → hope → table
“Above all, I hope they remember that she was a human being before she was ever a face on a screen or a story in a headline.”
asserted
she → hope → headline
Sahara — who previously dated Justin Bieber, Mod Sun and Cody Simpson — is the daughter of legendary surfer Tony Ray and real estate agent Gretchen Gia Bach.
asserted
who → date → Ray
Bach shared a heartbreaking update on how she was grieving the loss of her eldest daughter in an Instagram Story Tuesday night.
asserted
she → share → Story
“Laying on top of an Airbnb bed somewhere in LA at 1 AM wearing Sahara’s clothes and sobbing as I read and repost the love letters and tributes to my first born daughter,” she wrote along with a broken heart emoji.
asserted
she → lay → emoji
Earlier that day, Sahara’s younger sister, Ruby Ray, remembered her as a “force of nature” whose larger-than-life personality and loving spirit left a lasting impression on everyone who knew her.
asserted
who → remember → her
Your voice matters.
asserted
voice → matter → ?
Discussions are moderated for civility.
asserted
Discussions → moderate → civility
The Aporia
