Internet star who demanded free seats for fat fliers vanished without trace… now the Daily Mail has learned the heartbreaking reason why

Her demands for free extra airplane seats for plus-size passengers have made Jaelynn Chaney a controversial internet superstar, earning her rapturous applause and angry criticism.

Then earlier this year, the 29-year-old fat rights activist disappeared without a trace from her popular TikTok and Instagram channels.

Chaney, who announced his case on CNN and The Washington Post, pointed out the problems in his personal life in his recent posts.

This sparked concern among followers of the star’s message that ‘fat’ pilots should get as many free additional seats as they need on planes so they can spread out.

However, no other information about Chaney’s disappearance has emerged so far.

The Daily Mail revealed that Chaney was accused of assaulting police officers at a hospital in Kennewick, Washington. inside February.

The influencer’s father, Jerome Chaney, told the Daily Mail that he believes the incident occurred after his daughter, who has been publicly described as a polyamorous woman, caught her ex-fiancé Jacob Ard with another man, resulting in an allegation of domestic assault.

When officers arrived to arrest Chaney, they discovered that the 6XL phenom was too large to fit into the police car sent to take him into custody.

An evidence van then had to be dispatched so Chaney could be transported in the back of the truck.

Chaney, who announced his case on CNN and The Washington Post, pointed out the problems in his personal life in his recent posts.

Chaney later claimed he was unable to climb the stairs to the van, police allege.

In this case, a collapsible lift was deployed so the woman could be safely placed in the back of the pickup truck, according to court documents seen by the Daily Mail.

Chaney was taken to Benton County Jail in Kennewick on charges of third-degree assault and resisting arrest.

The ordeal was a harrowing change of circumstances for Chaney, whose 140,000 TikTok followers and 93,000 Instagram fans have propelled him into a life of glamorous free holidays and hotel stays.

He shared tips for plus-size passengers and was a particular fan of Southwest’s ‘plus-size passenger’ policy, which offers free extra seats to larger passengers.

Chaney’s suggestion that regular ticket prices should increase to cover the cost of free seats was particularly controversial.

But this pales in comparison to the scandal that has surrounded him since.

Chaney’s run-in with the law began when officers with the Kennewick Police Department said they were called to Trios Medical Hospital for a disturbance involving Chaney.

Newspapers said staff there informed police that he was not there for any medical reason and was actively ‘causing a disturbance’.

Jaelynn Chaney’s father, Jerome, told the Daily Mail in a photo taken outside his Pasco, Washington, home on Thursday that his influencer daughter caught her husband with another man.

Chaney was taken to the Benton County Jail earlier this year after he allegedly argued with officers.

Chaney and her ex, Jacob Ard, are seen in a photo shared on Instagram. His father claimed that Ard cheated on him with another man

Police said they gave Chaney a trespassing warning, which he ripped apart in front of them and told the cops he was going to leave.

The arresting officer described him as “very unpleasant to deal with,” saying Chaney “threatened to kill our families” and “told us to burn in hell.” Officers said they had to escort him off the property in a wheelchair ‘due to his physical ailments’.

The officer said that as he was being wheeled out, Chaney told him he couldn’t walk at all. The same officer said he had seen him walking “fine in previous contacts with him.”

Six days before his arrest, he set up his own GoFundMe and asked his followers to donate so he could “get his life back.”

Chaney reported that she nearly died of sepsis while struggling with the “brutal trauma, isolation, and abuse” resulting from her relationship with Ard.

He raised $1,200, setting a goal of $1,600, adding that the money would help him provide short-term housing, living basics and legal guidance. Alongside the fundraiser, she shared photos of herself in a hospital bed with a breathing tube in her nose, while others show her in the back of a car full of luggage.

Last year, Chaney attacked a staff member at Seattle-Tacoma Airport who refused to put him in a wheelchair because of his weight.

Chaney claims this snub forced him off the jet bridge and left him breathless.

During an altercation with police in February, Chaney allegedly also struck the shoulder and arm of one of the arresting officers.

He is then said to have tried to hit her in the face but missed.

While being arrested, Chaney is said to have thrown himself to the ground and ‘began shouting that the police had killed him and sexually assaulted him’.

According to court documents, he said: ‘Ramos knows what he’s doing. KPD raises their hands. Fire. I was naked and they raped me. Trios Southridge was trying to save me. The FBI is watching.”

The identity of the ‘Ramos’ Chaney mentioned is unknown.

Six days before his arrest, he set up his own GoFundMe, saying he had recovered from sepsis and asking his followers to donate so he could “get his life back.”

Chaney is seen here behind a vehicle in the photo he shared on his GoFundMe page.

According to Chaney, her former partner Jacob Ard, seen here, was in a relationship for six years.

The arresting officer noted in his report that 911 operators reported to him that Chaney called 911 41 times from February 2024 to February 28, 2025, the day of the incident.

Officers also stated that they attempted to detain him involuntarily but had difficulty finding a facility that could house him.

As a last resort, officers called her father, who told police that although he loved his daughter, he was unable to help her because of her “reluctant behavior.”

The court document adds: ‘Overall, we offered Jaelynn several opportunities to comply with our lawful request to reach a peaceful resolution, but she chose to take a different path.’

In March, while he was still in custody, Chaney’s attorney filed an order for a competency evaluation, saying he suffered from a ‘mental disease or defect’ and ‘may lack the capacity to understand the case against him to assist in his own defense.’

The woman, who was later determined to be ‘incompetent’, was ordered to receive inpatient treatment at the Eastern State Hospital upon the instructions of the state.

That was on March 11, and the court later had to sign an order on March 14 allowing Benton County Jail officers to use ‘force’ to take him to the hospital after he refused.

In May, health officials handed over an inpatient evaluation stating that he was suffering from sepsis, an unidentified personality disorder and delirium due to post-traumatic stress disorder.

When approached for comment, Chaney declined to talk to the Daily Mail about his legal troubles.

As part of the evaluation, Chaney told authorities she had recently become single, calling off her six-year engagement to fiancé Jacob Ard.

She also claims that Ard, a plus-size influencer, ‘tried to kill us both on a business trip’, saying he ‘found out who she was’.

Chaney added that the relationship was ‘abusive’ and told professionals that she ‘settled for a man who was far below you when you settled for crumbs.’

Ard was not home when the Daily Mail called his address in Vancouver, Washington, on Thursday.

As part of the evaluation, Chaney said his upbringing included ‘human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, witnessing crime, guns, drugs and violence.’ He also said he has been homeless many times in his life.

Health workers stated that he did not comply with treatment during his stay in the public hospital and frequently used the call light to ask for water, turn off his alarm, ask for a priest and prepare his bed.

One doctor noted that he frequently made conflicting demands, asking for four sets of clean sheets in five hours, then throwing them on the floor and asking for more.

The same doctor said he also asked to call 911 from his hospital bed to have a catheter line inserted.

The report stated that she constantly used profanities while refusing to take a shower and reported every day that she was either pregnant, giving birth, or having a miscarriage, even though her pregnancy tests were negative. At one point, she refused to increase her medication dose and to take a shower because she was ‘pregnant’.

Staff found him ‘condescending and degrading’ and resorted to interacting with him in the hospital corridor or in pairs, the report said.

He told staff he asked them to use his bare hands when treating pressure sores on his body caused by his weight.

After the report was submitted to the court in May, the Deputy Prosecutor requested the dismissal of the case.

Chaney’s father, Jerome, told the Daily Mail that his daughter was doing well after being released from the hospital.

When contacted by phone, Chaney said he ‘needed to check his schedule’ before deciding whether he could chat with us.

He later said: ‘I don’t want to comment.’