Fitness Influencer Dead at 41: RIP to Christina Bitner

Texas-based fitness influencer Christina Bitner has died.

The bodybuilder and cake artist, who had nearly 100,000 Instagram followers, passed away on Sunday, July 13, just three days after celebrating her 41st birthday, PEOPLE confirmed. Her death was announced by her friend, Natalie Prescott, in a social media tribute Monday.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I share the passing of my dear friend of over 27 years. Christina was called home to be with the Lord today,” Prescott wrote, adding that Bitner’s husband, Brent, “asked me to share this heartbreaking news, knowing how many people loved her and how hard it is right now to find the words. We may not understand how this fits into God’s plan, but what we do know is that the world lost someone truly special.”

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A post shared by Christina Bitner (@weightsncakes)

Prescott went on to remember Bitner as “the kind of friend everyone hopes to have genuine, kind, and full of love for the people around her.” She said the beloved fitness influencer “had the biggest heart and the brightest smile. She truly understood what it meant to value people.”

Prescott asked fans to keep Bitner’s husband, her stepdaughter, Emily, her sister, Katy, and all of “their loved ones in [their] prayers as they face what feels impossible. Our hearts are completely broken.”

Bitner was a member of the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) professional league, according to her Instagram profile, and often shared fitness content on Instagram, where she had more than 95,000 followers. She was also a cake artist who frequently shared her stunning creations on her account. Her final Instagram post, dated Monday, June 30, showed off one of her latest creations – a pink and white multi-tiered birthday cake with a carousel figurine topper.

News of Bitner’s passing sparked a wave of tributes, with IFBB Fitness Pro Donnice Chow sharing a gallery of images of herself and Bitner as she expressed her disbelief and heartbreak, writing, “I’ll never understand the loss of beautiful souls too young. This one hits hard and regret of not keeping in better touch as we progressed in life will weigh heavy for a long time.”

Fellow influencer Anahi Rosales said she “woke up with my heart in pieces, praying it had all been a bad dream, but reality hit hard. Yesterday, I lost one of my best friends. And I truly don’t know how to move forward knowing I’ll never hear her voice again.”

Bitner is survived by her husband and five children.