Caroline Bittencourt Facts: Brazilian Model Dies Trying To Save Drowning Pet Puppies

The body of Caroline Bittencourt, a Brazilian model who dived into the sea to save her two pet puppies during a storm near São Paulo, was recovered by rescuers Monday.

Bittencourt, 37, who worked as a television presenter, was with her husband near Ilhabela, a large island near São Paulo, when the incident took place Sunday. The model’s husband, Jorge Sestini, watched her dive into the waters from a boat after her puppies disappeared into the stormy sea at around 4:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. EDT). As she did not surface, he dove in after her. Sestini was rescued two hours later after he failed to save his wife.

“She jumped into the sea to save two puppies of hers that had fallen into the water because of the wind. It was just her, her husband and the puppies on the boat. Jorge jumped into the water to try to save her but they became separated from each other because of the storm. He had to swim three hours towards the coast to survive,” Can Saad, a close friend of the couple, said, Mail Online reported.

In 2005, Bittencourt made headlines in Brazil after she was asked to leave the wedding of ex-footballer Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, who was getting married to model Daniella Cicarelli. The former was reportedly asked to leave the ceremony by the-then bride because billionaire businessman João Paulo Diniz, who dated both the women in the past, was an attendee. Álvaro Garnero, a Brazilian entrepreneur, who was dating Bittencourt at the time, said he chose to leave the venue with Bittencourt.

“Daniella said that I could stay but... I would not let my girlfriend leave the party alone," he said, Brazilian sports news channel Globo Esporte reported.

Bittencourt and Garnero dated till 2009. Although they were engaged at the time, they called off their relationship before they could get married. The model married Sestini in January. She has a 17-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

Bittencourt had modeled for brands such as Valentino Garavani and Roberto Cavalli. She also worked for RedeTV!, RecordTV, which are local Brazilian media channels.

According to Brazilian news outlet G1, her body was discovered on the beach of Cigarras, in São Sebastião, on the north coast of São Paulo, near the place where the boat had disappeared. Bittencourt’s father was part of the search and rescue team.

Bittencourt's agent, Andréia Boneti, said the model’s husband was in a “state of shock” after her demise. “Jorge tried to save her. He saw Carol drowning and wasn't able to save her. It was a terrible moment for him,” she said.

Agency Oxygen Models, the agency for which Caroline worked, issued the following statement on her death: “We appreciate all the trust she placed in us in these years of work and partnership. Our condolences go to her friends and family. We are in mourning.”

Garnero also paid tribute to the model. "Praying too much for @cabitten and asking you to join me and all those who like her in these prayers so that everything will be resolved. She is in a very happy moment of life and is a person who deserves to be happy,” he wrote in a series of tweets. “We both grew up together. And a five-year relationship doesn't end. It was no longer a relationship of man and woman, but a relationship of respect, I was rooting for her, her, for me.”