For years, her Ramadan posts were polished, coordinated outfits, elegant iftars, and carefully lit reflections of her millions of followers. This year, Rawan Bin Hussein says that won’t be the case at all.After what she described as the most difficult year of her life, the UAE-based influencer is marking her first Ramadan after a six-month prison sentence with a public reckoning, including addiction, grief, a suicide attempt and what she now describes as an unexpected turning point.Bin Hussein, 29, is among the most popular digital personalities in the Gulf region, with more than 7 million followers on Instagram and more than 700,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Known for her beauty, fashion, and lifestyle content, she has also built a career as an entrepreneur, singer, and actress. But in recent weeks, her social media has taken a noticeably different tone.“In November 2024, I was admitted to the ICU for a suicide attempt. When the whole world thought I had it all, I was miserable deep down,” she revealed in an Instagram post.She described the period leading up to that moment as a time affected by profound personal loss.
“My divorce hurt me, but my mother’s death broke me. Instead of grieving, I chose to use drugs to numb my emotions. I chose to overtrain as a coping mechanism, exercising for long hours until I injured myself,” she wrote.
Her thinking did not stop there. “I chose to work overtime to keep myself busy so I wouldn’t have to deal with Rowan. I made friends with the wrong people, loved the wrong men, fell into the wrong crowd where I didn’t belong, and it extinguished my light and my heart.”According to several Kuwaiti media outlets last year, Bin Hussein was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 20,000 dirhams in relation to charges of public misconduct. In her recent publications, she did not address the details of the case, and focused on what the experience forced her to confront internally.“Prison saved my life because I knew my ending would be tragic. I had to lose everything to realize how lucky I was.
“I was given another opportunity in life to rise, grow and shine, this time with a different mindset,” she wrote.She says this transformation will be visible in the month of Ramadan.“This Ramadan, you won’t see me getting dressed up. I won’t be sharing my looks or iftar and suhoor meals the way I used to every year. This year, I want to dedicate Ramadan to God, our Creator.”For an influencer whose brand was built on visibility, the decision signals a conscious retreat, at least temporarily, from the performative aspects of social media. Instead of curated content, she offers something more personal: accountability, faith, and rebuilding after what she describes as the year that dismantled her life.
