Texas police fatally shot an Instagram food influencer, Michael Duarte, in November after he began acting erratically. Earlier, Duarte had shared his struggles with mental health issues and rehab. The 36-year-old food vlogger shared his past mental struggles on Oct. 25, and his followers sympathized with him.
On his Instagram, he shared food reviews and eating videos. At the same time, some posts were about his family. He wrote in his October post, “I hit a breaking point and had a mental health crisis that led me to rehab.”
He also spoke about his problems during the pandemic lockdown. Duarte was shot on November 12 because the Texas police saw him as a threat. His mental breakdown was a result of feeling like a failure in life.
Food influencer Michael Duarte shared about past mental health struggles and rehab just days before he was killed by cops https://t.co/YELjahARDZ pic.twitter.com/y8rc515lve
— New York Post (@nypost) December 7, 2025
He felt low on confidence and may have been depressed the whole time. He did not share more details about his rehab and struggles, but seemed not to be doing fine despite the smiling face.
He also said that he had a difficult childhood since he was raised by a single mother who had cancer. He was just a teen during that time. He wrote in his posts about his single mom taking the role of a dad, too. They went fishing and hunting together.
Despite her being a single mother, it did seem like a fulfilling childhood. He added that her mother did everything to support him, even though she did not know how to do it all. His mom passed away when he was 21, leaving him alone.
Michael, who posted cooking videos under the Instagram handle @ foodwithbearhands, died Saturday while traveling through Texas … according to a GoFundMe posted on his IG. Michael’s talent agency also posted about his death, remembering him as “a devoted husband to his wife… pic.twitter.com/QSyi6eJRWc
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 12, 2025
His Instagram video looks lively and happy, where his page, foodwithbearhands, has more than a million followers. From the outside, he looked happy and had just completed 9 years with his wife.
Three days after their anniversary, Duarte had a public breakdown in Castroville. He was threatening to kill everyone and had a knife with him. Moreover, he threatened firefighters and EMS personnel.
Duarte even yelled that he would kill the deputy on duty and charged at him. Due to this unsafe behavior, the police had to open fire and take him down. His wife, Jessica, has been grieving and is getting support from his followers to get through the tragedy.
