Stephanie, a 36-year-old executive from Melbourne, had stayed behind in Italy after a European trip with friends when her dream vacation took a chilling turn.
The Australian traveler, who is known on social media for sharing DIY home renovation videos, had been drawn to Sicily for two reasons:
First, she wanted to explore Italy’s €1-house programs, where abandoned or dilapidated properties are sold for a symbolic one euro. Second, she was also interested in the kiteboarding scene in Lo Stagnone, a town near Marsala.
Her holiday soon became a nightmare after, according to Stephanie, she was kidnapped twice within hours by two different men.
A tourist went viral after claiming to have been kidnapped twice by two different men in Sicily
The first incident began during what appeared to be a harmless meet-up with fellow kiteboarders.
Stephanie had joined the group while staying in Lo Stagnone last October. When the others began heading to another bar, she trusted the people around her enough to get into a foreign expat’s car.
Within minutes, she realized the car was no longer following the group.
“I got into the car, and he starts driving. We go 300 meters (about 984 ft), 400 meters (about 1312 ft); and he says, ‘let’s see if we can get this car to 160,’” she told local media.
The comment immediately alarmed her.
“And I’m like, ‘Sorry, what?’ He starts driving faster and faster, and I’m like, ‘No, please don’t. I want to get out.’”
As the driver accelerated along the small Sicilian roads, Stephanie began pleading with him to stop. Instead, she said, the car kept going faster.
“I’m terrified. So I start pleading, begging, and the car goes faster. Screaming, yelling, and the car goes faster. And these are small Sicilian roads.”
At some point, Stephanie went quiet long enough to text her location to her kiteboarding instructor. She was trapped inside the car with the driver and another man in the front passenger seat, who then asked a question that made the situation even more frightening.
“And then his friend that was in the front passenger seat said to him, ‘Is everyone coming back to your place, are they?’
“And he goes, ‘No, absolutely not, no one’s coming.’”
That answer made Stephanie realize the passenger may not have understood what the driver was doing.
“So I realized that even the friend doesn’t really understand what’s going on. He’s confused.”
After traveling seven miles the car reached a gated compound and drove inside
By then, Stephanie believed she could no longer wait for anyone else to help her. The passenger appeared confused, but she did not think he was strong enough to stop whatever the driver had planned.
“I just decide, well, I may as well check the car door. Because I’m not safe with these people. The friend doesn’t seem like he’s got enough backbone to stop whatever this man has in mind for me.”
The door was unlocked.
“It opened, and I just ran and ran, for as long as I could, before I found an object to hide behind and check if I was being followed, and I wasn’t,” she recounted.
After running for a while, she reached a quiet little town and saw a security guard’s car with warning lights. She found the guard patrolling the area and used a translation app on her phone to explain what had happened.
The guard agreed to take her back to her accommodation. He even called his boss to explain what he was doing.
At that point, Stephanie thought she was finally safe and only moments away from her hotel room.
Then the second man pulled into an alleyway.
“He just pulls over into this alleyway, and he’s determined to translate on my phone,” she said.
“So I finally gave him the phone when he’d stopped driving, and he typed on the phone: ‘What are you going to do for me for driving you home?’”
For the second time that night, Stephanie checked the door.
“So I just did the same thing. The door was open, and I ran into a vineyard.”
After escaping the security guard, Stephanie began walking in the direction of her hotel
By then, she was unwilling to trust anyone else. Whenever she saw headlights in the distance, she hid, refusing to take another chance on a passing car or another stranger who might offer help.
Along the way, she stopped at vending machines to buy drinks. The purchases were intentional. She wanted the transactions to be traceable in case something happened before she made it back.
Stephanie eventually reached her accommodation, but the ordeal did not end when she got inside. She said she “cried all the next day” before reuniting with the kiteboarding crew, who were “beside themselves” when they heard what had happened.
The incident left her shaken and changed the way she thinks about returning to Italy alone.
Stephanie said she wants her experience to serve as a warning to other travelers
Despite her traumatic experience, Stephanie made clear that she does not blame Italians or Italy as a whole.
“It’s absolutely not an Italian thing,” she said, pointing out that the man who drove her away from the bar was a European expat.
She also said women face danger at home as well as abroad.
“Unfortunately for me and a lot of my girlfriends, much worse things have happened to us here in Australia, ” she added, referring to the country’s domestic and gender-violence rates.
“It’s not safe here either.”
For now, Stephanie’s dream of buying and renovating a house in Italy has been put on hold.
“I don’t think I’ll be going to Italy to work on a project unless I have someone that I’m doing it with now.”
“How is that even possible!?” a netizen asked
Lily Phillips has revealed that she wants to be married within the next two or three years, even as she continues to build her career in the adult industry.
The 24-year-old creator, who first made headlines after her viral “101 men in one day” challenge and later attempted increasingly ambitious stunts, recently opened up about her future with her boyfriend, Sam.
In an interview, Sam revealed the reasons why he fully supports Phillips’ career, as well as the things he loves watching her do.
Lily Phillips revealed she wants to get married soon but has no plans to leave the adult industry
On June 30, Phillips sat down with Sam for a YouTube video where they answered questions about their relationship and future together.
During the conversation, Phillips revealed that she hopes to be married by the time she is 27. She also shared that she would love to leave city life behind and eventually move into a house in the countryside.
“I’d like to be married,” Lily said. “I honestly wouldn’t mind living in another house in five years.”
Sam quickly agreed, adding, “In the countryside.”
Although she is thinking about marriage and a quieter lifestyle, Phillips emphasized that she has no intention of stepping away from adult content anytime soon.
“I’ve done it for six years now, so why not another five,” she joked.
Phillips already owns mortgage-free properties and could retire if she wanted, but she has no interest in doing so.
“I won’t, because I love this job too much.”
Meanwhile, Sam explained why he has never had a problem with her work.
Instead of focusing on the industry’s explicit side, he said he sees the effort that goes into creating content.
“I think it’s a very creative thing — a form of art, really,” he said. “I’m so proud of what she does, and that’ll never change.”
Sam admitted that he actually watches Phillips’ content
One of the biggest talking points of the interview was Sam admitting he actually watches Phillips’ content.
“Yeah, I watch her content. I enjoy it,” he said, adding that some of his favorite videos feature fellow adult performer Danny D.
Phillips laughed at the reaction people often have to that confession.
“God forbid the guy likes to watch his girlfriend enjoy herself,” she joked.
She further argued that many critics probably watch adult content themselves.
“Everyone watches p*rn,” she said. “Most guys have probably watched me… You’re only the same as Sammy here. He just gets to do it in real life as well.”
For Phillips, Sam’s attitude made a huge difference.
“You see me as Lily, your girlfriend,” she told him, adding that he makes her feel “validated” and “seen as a human.”
The couple also explained that they have boundaries as a couple.
One rule they both agreed on is that Phillips will no longer kiss other performers during filming because they consider kissing deeply personal.
“We find kissing really intimate,” Phillips explained. “I wanted to save that for us.”
Sam has also previously said he doesn’t get jealous because he understands that filming is work.
“I can see how professional it is and how much work goes into it,” he said. “She comes home to me at the end of the day.”
Phillips admitted that after particularly demanding shoots, especially large group scenes, she sometimes prefers to rest before the couple spends intimate time together.
Sam often surprises Phillips with gifts after “difficult filming days”
Phillips explained that she never mixes work with her personal relationship and believes many people outside the industry misunderstand what happens behind the scenes.
Also, Sam has never asked her to quit, and Phillips said he fully supports her enjoying what she does.
“He enjoys me enjoying myself,” she previously said.
She also revealed that Sam often surprises her with thoughtful gestures after difficult filming days.
After one large shoot, he welcomed her home with chocolates and a handwritten card expressing how proud he was of her.
Phillips said moments like that remind her why their relationship works.
She has also spoken about limits she refuses to cross professionally.
Apparently, Phillips does not accept requests involving toilets or child roleplay, calling the latter “disgusting.”
Furthermore, she avoids filming custom videos with other performers because, according to her, it becomes complicated deciding how everyone should be paid.
“Poor guy man, imagine that,” wrote one netizen
