The real-life Peloton instructor behind scandalous And Just Like That death: Jess King had never been on an exercise bike before she got the job, is fiancee of rocker who urinated on man on stage and was Cirque du Soleil dancer in Vegas
- WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
- In the series premiere, Mr. Big is enjoying his 1,000th Peloton ride in his and Carrie’s apartment
- He and Carrie both discuss the instructor Allegra, who is giving him a special shoutout for the occasion
- After the ride, he grips his arm in pain and ultimately dies of a heart attack
- Allegra is played by Jess King, a real Peloton instructor who was also a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance season four
- The 36-year-old is engaged to Brass Against singer Sophia Urista, who was caught on video urinating on a fan at a concert last month
In the series premiere of HBO Max’s hotly anticipated Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That, Mr. Big excitedly participates in his 1,000th Peloton ride and gets a special shout out from an instructor named Allegra – only to leave viewers stunned moments later when he collapses and dies of a heart attack.
Allegra, who plays an unexpectedly big part in the events of the premiere, is portrayed by real-life Peloton instructor Jess King, 36.
While Jess has not addressed the surprise twist in the series premiere, she has taken to Instagram to celebrate her part in the series – despite the fact that her role in the show is very closely entwined with the passing of a much-loved character, Mr. Big.
As DailyMail.com exclusively reported in August, it was revealed at the end of the premiere of And Just Like That that Mr. Big, played by actor Chris Noth, collapsed and died of a heart attack shortly after a 45-minute session with Brazilian Peloton instructor Allegra, a role occupied by fitness pro Jess.
In the series premiere of And Just Like That, real-life Peloton instructor Jess King plays on-screen instructor Allegra
In the series premiere, Mr. Big is enjoying his 1,000th Peloton ride in his and Carrie’s apartment
He and Carrie both discuss the instructor Allegra, who is giving him a special shoutout for the occasion
After the ride, he grips his arm in pain and ultimately dies of a heart attack
In the lead-up to the shocking plot twist, Mr. Big tells Carrie about his excitement over his upcoming 1,000th Peloton ride, which he does at home while she is out at a concert.
During the ride, the fictional instructor Allegra can be seen and heard on screen motivating him.
Big — who is played by 67-year-old Noth — completes his ride but is soon gripping his arm in pain and collapses outside of the shower, having suffered a heart attack, which kills him.
After the premiere, Peloton shares nosedived 11 per cent — sending the company scrambling to have a doctor remind fans that Big liked cocktails, cigars, and big steaks, and that riding a Peloton bike would have helped delay his fatal heart attack.
However, the scandal surrounding Big’s post-Peloton death has not stopped its instructor Jess from happily promoting her involvement in the series.
Frequent Peloton users may recognize Allegra as Jess, who teaches Bike and Tread classes.
‘Jess is a charismatic instructor with a boundless energy and passion for movement. With a background in dance, performance and fitness, Jess grew up down South and moved to NYC to commit to a career in wellness,’ reads her Peloton bio.
A senior fitness instructor at the company, the Myrtle Beach native is the daughter of Ximena Bernales, a competitive bodybuilder.
‘My mother was a competitive bodybuilder, the owner of personal training boutique fitness studios, and she educated and exposed me to all the things fitness and wellness,’ she told The Path.
But she had never even taken a cycling class before joining Peloton as a founding instructor.
Her background had been mostly in dance, and she had previously been among the top ten finalists on season four of So You Think You Can Dance in 2008.
She also starred in a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas.
But in 2014, she was struggling to make it on Broadway when a producer suggested she take a meeting with Peloton, which was looking for coaches.
‘I was initially very resistant to abandoning my dance career; I had never even been on an exercise bike before,’ she told Self.
‘What drew me to Peloton was the impact on people’s lives I would now have. As a dancer you seek to elicit emotion from your audience via physical expression,’ she said
The Myrtle Beach native is the daughter of Ximena Bernales, a competitive bodybuilder
‘They also wanted me to audition to be an instructor at Peloton, but I told them no, that I could take the job and would be great at it. I might be the only instructor ever who never had to audition for Peloton.’
‘I felt confident as an authority on the body and in my abilities to perform and connect with an audience,’ she told The Path.
‘What drew me to Peloton was the impact on people’s lives I would now have. As a dancer you seek to elicit emotion from your audience via physical expression.
‘Peloton gave my physical expression a voice! I’ve always had a message of empowerment and self love. I am honored to be able to still perform, move my body and change people’s lives as a consequence.’
In her personal life, Jess is in engaged to Brass Against singer Sophia Urista.
They met in 2005, when Jess had just started working at Peloton. Jess spotted Sophia in a nightclub, and told PopSugar: ‘I just felt overcome and overwhelmed by this pull and draw towards her.
In her personal life, Jess is in engaged to Brass Against singer Sophia Urista. They met in 2005, when Jess had just started working at Peloton
‘I just felt overcome and overwhelmed by this pull and draw towards her,’ Jess said
They didn’t begin dating immediately, but did eventually get together and have been engaged since 2020
‘And I walked up to her and said something totally ridiculous. Something like, “Hey, do you want to hook up?”‘
They didn’t begin dating immediately, but did eventually get together and have been engaged since 2020.
‘When you meet Sophia, you can’t help but recognize and acknowledge how incredible she is, not as my partner, but just as a person in general,’ Jess said.
‘I would not be where I am, or who I am, if it wasn’t for her. Her love has healed me in so many ways,’ she added.
But Sophia, 36 made headlines in November for a less-than-incredible reason: During a performance in Florida, she was recorded urinating on a fan’s face.
She was in the middle of a set during the Welcome to Rockville concert in Daytona when she announced to the crowd that she needed to go to the bathroom and couldn’t wait any longer.
Instead of leaving the stage or peeing her pants, the 36-year-old dragged up a male fan from the audience, got him to lie down on the stage at a concert in Daytona, Florida, and relieved herself over him.
Sophia, 36 made headlines in November for a less-than-incredible reason: During a performance in Florida, she was recorded urinating on a fan’s face
She was in the middle of a set during the Welcome to Rockville concert in Daytona when she announced to the crowd that she needed to go to the bathroom and invited a man ons tage
The X-rated display led a concertgoer named Nicole Shields to dial 911 on Saturday and report the incident to a county dispatcher, saying that her underage child witnessed the very public bathroom break.
According to the Daytona Beach Police Department’s call logs obtained by DailyMail.com, Shields ‘stated that the lead singer urinated on someone on stage, she is wondering if there are remifications [sic] for this as her 16-year-old was there and saw it live.’
Police spokesperson Messod Bendayan said that investigators tried calling the complainant back twice but received no response. As a result, no police report was filed and no charges were pending against Sophia.
Under Florida law, indecent exposure is a first-degree misdemeanor that carries a punishment of up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.
But Jess’s And Just Like That episode is pulling attention this month, especially after it has had some real-world ramifications.
A doctor enlisted by Peloton noted that Big smoked, drank, and liked big steaks –
Peloton shares tanked 11.35% after the show debuted, and the company issued a statement through cardiologist Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum.
The company did know that one of its bikes would be featured in the episode, but did not know that Mr. Big would die, reports Buzzfeed News.
Dr. Steinbaum, who works for Peloton on its Health & Wellness Advisory Council, said Mr. Big’s history of cardiac arrest would have put him at higher risk of a heart attack.
‘I’m sure SATC fans, like me, are saddened by the news that Mr. Big dies of a heart attack,’ Steinbaum began in her statement to US Weekly.
‘Mr. Big lived what many would call an extravagant lifestyle — including cocktails, cigars, and big steaks — and was at serious risk as he had a previous cardiac event in Season 6,’ she continued.
‘These lifestyle choices and perhaps even his family history, which often is a significant factor, were the likely cause of his death. Riding his Peloton bike may have even helped delay his cardiac event,’ she added.
Steinbaum also revealed that ‘more than 80 percent of all cardiac-related deaths are preventable’ by changing one’s lifestyle, diet and exercise.
‘While 25% of heart attacks each year are in patients who already had one (like Mr. Big), even then they are very, very treatable,’ she continued.
‘It’s always important to talk to your doctor, get tested, and have a healthy prevention strategy. The good news is Peloton helps you track heart rate while you ride, so you can do it safely,’ she said.
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