Chloe Ayling: Drugged and kidnapped model says people still call her a liar years on (2024)

Chloe Ayling: Drugged and kidnapped model says people still call her a liar years on (1)Chloe Ayling: Drugged and kidnapped model says people still call her a liar years on (2)Getty Images

Model Chloe Ayling was kidnapped after being lured to a fake photo shoot in Milan. She was released six days later, but her ordeal was far from over - seven years on, she is still being called a liar.

"Headlines really stick in people's minds, even years later," Ms Ayling tells the BBC, explaining that she still receives online abuse from people questioning her account.

Her story is being told in a new six-part BBC series, Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story. The series, which follows Chloe's experience being kidnapped and the media storm that followed, is based on police interviews, court transcripts and personal accounts - with some scenes created for dramatic purposes.

Ms Ayling faced years of doubts about her ordeal with people accusing her of faking her abduction, profiting from it and being involved in a publicity stunt.

But she's since worked with the drama's writer Georgia Lester and producers to tell her story.

"All I wanted was [the] facts to be laid out and everyone to know what actually happened," Ms Ayling says.

She hopes her experience will help others. "This should be a lesson for people not to judge victims based on the way they act or react," she adds.

Chloe Ayling: Drugged and kidnapped model says people still call her a liar years on (3)Chloe Ayling: Drugged and kidnapped model says people still call her a liar years on (4)River Pictures

Ms Ayling's ordeal began in July 2017 when she was lured from London to Italy on the promise of a photo shoot by Lukasz Herba, who drugged her and took her to a remote farmhouse in a holdall bag.

Lukasz Herba said she would be sold online if she could not provide a $300,000 (approximately £230,000) ransom fee. He released her to the British consulate in Milan six days later.

When Ms Ayling, then 20 years old, returned to the UK she came under fire - she was accused of posing for the cameras and smiling.

Finding herself at the centre of so much media attention, Ms Ayling remembers: "It was just so big and overpowering.

"It was blown out of proportion, there were things that were missed out and it was going in a direction that was not true."

On the topic of smiling when she arrived home from Italy, Ms Ayling says: "That was genuinely how I was feeling at the time. I was happy to be home. I was happy this was over, so why shouldn't I be smiling?"

Even after Lukasz Herba, a Polish national, was jailed for 16 years and nine months for her kidnapping, people continued to accuse her of not telling the truth.

Ms Ayling feels her work as a model contributed to how she was treated: "I do believe if my job was different, it wouldn't be the same reaction," adding that the way a victim dresses, acts or shows emotion shouldn't be a reason not to believe them.

After her kidnapping, Ms Ayling published a book and appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother.

Despite the backlash she received, she wouldn't change anything about how she behaved, she says.

"I was true to myself and did what I want[ed] to do, so I don't have any regrets."

'How we treat victims'

The BBC drama comes as her kidnapper's brother, Michal Herba, who was also involved in Ms Ayling's abduction, has been released from prison. He was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison but had his sentence reduced after an appeal.

"I think he should have been in prison for a lot longer," Ms Ayling says of Michal Herba.

"The fact that they still don't take accountability and still want to make lies and not be responsible for what they did [is] even more annoying," she adds.

Now, years on from her abduction, Ms Ayling is trying to put what happened behind her.

"I don't get flashbacks or anything like that," she says, but in making this drama the 27-year-old had to relive the experience.

"I [had] to put myself back in that position to remember key details and how I felt at the time," she says.

The series writer, Georgia Lester - who has also worked on dramas Killing Eve and Skins - says: "I think the wider story here is about how we treat victims, specifically women."

She adds: "It feels like a timely and important drama."

Chloe Ayling: Drugged and kidnapped model says people still call her a liar years on (5)Chloe Ayling: Drugged and kidnapped model says people still call her a liar years on (6)Georgia Lester

In July, the National Police Chiefs' Council outlined the scale of violence against women and girls across the nation in a report - and the body estimates that one in every 12 women will be a victim of violence every year.

Amanda Rowe, the lead for violence against women and girls at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, acknowledges some people "do not have a good experience" when it comes to reporting violence against women and girls.

"Fear of being made to feel responsible for what has happened to them can put people off reporting these crimes," she says.

Ms Lester says she was enraged to learn how Ms Ayling had been treated following her kidnapping. She hopes the BBC drama "encourages people to believe women" and that it will "vindicate" Ms Ayling in "the eyes of people who judged her".

Ms Ayling adds: "I want the world to know that what I'm saying is true."

You can watch Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story on BBC iPlayer on Wednesday 14 August.

Additional reporting by Sabrina Fearon-Melville.

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Chloe Ayling: Drugged and kidnapped model says people still call her a liar years on (2024)

FAQs

Is the Chloe Ayling story true? ›

That question underpins all drama to an extent but is particularly crucial in Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story, a dramatisation of real but disputed events. Chloe Ayling is a British model who, in 2017, was abducted.

Why was Chloe kidnapped? ›

But one of Chloe Ayling's kidnappers has continued to claim the case is 'fiction' in his first interview since the 2017 abduction. Michal Herba was jailed along with his brother Lukasz after the pair kidnapped Ms Ayling for a sex trafficking gang and tried to sell her as a slave for £250,000.

Where can I watch Kidnapped the Chloe Ayling story? ›

Watch Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story. New Season. TVNZ+

Does Chloe Ayling have a child? ›

It has been widely reported that Ayling has a son with her ex-partner, Conor Keyes.

What happened to Chloe kidnapper? ›

Despite the mastermind behind her kidnapping being sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2018, the "mud-slinging persists". Instead of being given any sympathy for the trauma she went through, Ayling has been widely "vilified".

Is Chloe the movie based on a true story? ›

Is Chloe based on a true story? Although the events of the story may ring true for some, the story is fictional. The series has been written by Netflix's Sex Education writer Alice Seabright. She is a writer and director based in London who was named as a 2019 Screen International Star of Tomorrow.

Who did Chloe lose her virginity to? ›

The shot of the Las Vegas Strip was stock footage from Ocean's Eleven (2001). Chloe admits to Lana that she lost her virginity to a fellow staffer at the Daily Planet during her internship. She names him as "Jimmy"; it's only later in the series that we confirm his surname is "Olsen".

Is Chloe lying in Chloe? ›

However, a confrontation staged by Catherine reveals the truth: Chloe's elaborate erotic tales about her and David together were fabrications and David is actually not cheating on his wife, despite struggling with urges.

Why did Chloe turn evil? ›

However, after being denied access to the Bee Miraculous and manipulated by Hawk Moth, she loses faith in Ladybug and Cat Noir, becoming a villain in the process until she is ultimately exiled from Paris for her crimes and many abuses of power.

What is the Netflix show about the girl who was kidnapped? ›

After a harrowing home invasion and kidnapping in 2015, a couple is accused of staging the ordeal when the woman reappears in this true-crime docuseries. Watch all you want.

What is the Netflix movie about abductions? ›

In this true crime documentary, a family falls prey to the manipulative charms of a neighbor, who abducts their adolescent daughter.

Is Netflix movie abduction based on a true story? ›

Abducted and imprisoned, Michelle Knight finds the will to survive amid the most horrific and heartbreaking of circ*mstances in this true-crime drama. Watch all you want.

What does Chloe Ayling do now? ›

Chloe Ayling is now a public figure and currently boasts over 200,000 followers on Instagram. She is still a model and posts regular content to her Instagram and OnlyFans accounts. Recommended reading: When asked by BBC Breakfast how she was doing seven years on from the kidnapping, Ayling shared: "I'm fine in myself.

How does Chloe have a half sister? ›

-Chloe has a half-sister named Zoe Lee, who is Audrey's biological daughter, as well as the daughter of a "Mr. Lee".

How old is Chloe Ayling? ›

Twenty-year-old model Chloe Ayling goes to a shoot in Milan that takes a horrifying turn. In the farmhouse, Chloe finds an ally in MD. But can she rely on him to protect her?

Why did Diane kidnap Chloe? ›

Diane's biological daughter died shortly after she was born, and she kidnapped Chloe to fill the void. To keep her from losing another daughter, she finds ways to confine her to their home, such as Chloe's Trigoxin, taking her to several different doctors to form a falsified story of her ailments.

What was the point of the movie Chloe? ›

"Chloe," like his great film "Exotica" (1994), is about sexual attraction confused by financial arrangements. "Chloe" centers on a powerfully erotic young woman with personal motives that are hidden.

How did Chloe Jones get kidnapped? ›

Authorities say Jones knew Mozingo, but noted the two weren't close. They suspect she ended up at the garage when Mozingo allegedly abducted her after offering her a ride home. She was held captive in the garage until the garage's owner tipped off law enforcement. Jones has since publicly addressed the ordeal.

Why did God put Chloe? ›

Gift from God

That was the first and only time God asked Amenadiel to do anything like that. It is implied that Chloe was meant to cross paths with Lucifer, so he could form a connection with a Human who was immune to his ability to reflect ones desires, and would see him as he truly was.

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