Kidnapped Model Reveals The Moment That Helped Her Survive Dark Web Ordeal

Even after eight years, Chloe Ayling is still standing by her story and pushing back against those who accuse her of lying about what happened.

Back in April 2017, Chloe — who was believed to be 19 years old at the time — traveled to Paris, France, for a photoshoot that had been arranged by her then-agent, Phil Green.

She had been booked by someone using the name 'Andre Lazio'. But before the shoot could take place, the plans were abruptly cancelled while she was still in France due to a tragic terror attack on the Champs-Élysées, where three police officers were killed.

Just a few months after that incident, Andre got in touch with Phil again to try and reschedule the photoshoot. This time, the location was changed to Milan, Italy.

Chloe agreed and flew to Milan as planned. The day after arriving, she headed to the address she’d been given for the photoshoot.

But when she got there, there was no shoot. Instead, she was drugged and taken against her will.

British model Chloe Ayling was kidnapped in 2017 chloeayling97/Instagram

For several days, the British model was held hostage. Her abductor claimed he had been hired by a group known as 'The Black Death', a criminal organization.

According to what Chloe was told, her captor — who called himself MD — had received instructions to sell her as a sex slave on the dark web.

MD sent an email to Chloe’s agent demanding a ransom of $300,000 in exchange for her safe release.

Phil immediately reached out to both the English and Italian police, who launched an urgent investigation to find Chloe before she could be auctioned off.

At first, there was a lot of skepticism about the case, with some suggesting Chloe had made the whole thing up to gain fame.

But as the investigation moved forward, it became clear that the threat she faced was very real.

While the authorities continued their efforts, Chloe found herself in a position where she had to rely on her own instincts to survive.

She shares what happened during that time in the BBC docu-series, Chloe Ayling: My Unbelievable Kidnapping.

In the documentary, Chloe recalled a particular turning point in her ordeal — a moment when something shifted in the dynamic between her and her abductor, MD, who police later identified as Łukasz Herba.

She spoke about how she stayed calm throughout the terrifying experience and believes that it may have helped her.

"I always remained calm," Chloe recounted in her new documentary. "With anything that happens, it's like, so this has happened and what can I do about this? If the answer is nothing and it's out of my control then I have to just accept it."

She explained that she felt staying calm was important because panicking would have only made things feel more out of control.

Chloe continued: "In that moment, I knew I needed to rely on myself, and that was when I got the first ever inkling that he liked me in any way."

"I had no clue before. I thought may he liked me as a person because I was not throwing a fit, but this was the first time I thought 'wow, things have changed'."

She also revealed that her captor had tried to kiss her. Although she felt the need to be agreeable and keep him calm for her own safety, she admitted that she couldn’t bring herself to actually kiss him back.

Łukasz Herba was convicted of kidnapping Chloe Polizia di Stato

"I just said, 'I don't really feel up for that right now. I'm not in the right mind set,'" Chloe recounted. She hinted that if she were released, something might happen between them, which she used as a tactic to buy herself more time.

She continued to lean into this idea until, on the sixth day of her captivity, she managed to persuade her captor to let her go.

On July 17, Łukasz took her to the Milan consulate. Although one of the conditions for her release was that police investigations into her disappearance should stop, Chloe told the authorities everything as soon as she was safe.

Eventually, in June 2018, even though there were still people who thought Chloe had made it all up for attention, Łukasz was found guilty of kidnapping and sentenced to 16 years and nine months in prison.

The BBC series Chloe Ayling: My Unbelievable Kidnapping premiered on August 4 and dives deeper into her story.