Dania Mendez: The Mexican Beauty Who Shines on Social Media
Dania Mendez
The influencer and reality star Dania Mendez was born on 6th February 1992, in Jalisco, Mexico, and shot to fame in 2019 thanks to her appearances in “Acapulco Shore”, the Mexican version of MTV’s “Shore” franchise.
Career
Dania went down in the show’s history as one of its most controversial cast members after getting into a physical altercation with influencer Manelyk Gonzalez. Viewers and critics alike were horrified at the scene – which saw Manelyk push Dania into a swimming pool and throw a plastic flamingo in her direction – and Manelyk was rumored to have been blackballed from other reality shows due to the backlash that MTV received for allowing the fight to happen.
In any case, Dania quickly became a fan favorite in “Acapulco Shore” as viewers felt that she was being treated unfairly by Manelyk and her boyfriend Jawy. The brunette returned to the show in its seventh season, which aired in 2020, and also participated as a panelist in “Acapulco Shock” two years later.
Around the same time, Dania and Manelyk publicly decided to put their differences aside and began following each other on Instagram after being invited to the same birthday party. Manelyk also claimed that Jawy – who was by then her ex-fiancé – had encouraged her to argue with Dania while they were in the show.
2023 has been Dania’s busiest year yet, starting off with the Spanish-language reality show “La casa de los famosos” in which minor celebrities compete for a cash prize while completing a series of challenges. After 77 days and three nominations, Dania became the 11th eliminated contestant.
During her time in “La casa de los famosos”, Dania was chosen to participate in “Big Brother Brasil” after being swapped out for Key Alves. However, a huge public scandal ensued when Dania chose to return to the first reality show, after suffering sexual harassment from Antonio Carlos Junior and MC Guime.
Less than a day after Dania touched down in Brazil, the “Big Brother” house threw an over-the-top birthday celebration for Antonio Carlos with plenty of music and alcohol. As the night passed, the contestants grew rowdier and drunker until Antonio Carlos stole a kiss from the Mexican influencer – which didn’t go down well with viewers or netizens, who promptly accused him of harassment.
During the same birthday party, MC Guime touched Dania inappropriately on several occasions, until she realized and moved his hand away. “Big Brother Brasil” released a statement in which they apologized for letting things go too far, whereas Guime’s wife wrote on Instagram: ‘I won’t be seeing the program anymore and I’m removing myself from this situation. Thank you for your support, but it’s time to take care of myself.’ [All quotes translated from Spanish]
The day after the party, Big Brother asked Dania how she felt and if anyone had behaved inappropriately towards her or made her feel uncomfortable. Although Dania was embarrassed to recall that Guime had touched her backside without her realizing, she brushed-off the incident – as well as the kiss that Antonio Carlos stole from her – and chalked it down to everyone having too much to drink.
Nevertheless, “Big Brother Brasil” decided to send Guime and Antonio Carlos home after their behavior, while also offering Dania the chance to return to “La casa de los famosos”, which she accepted.
Shortly afterwards, Dania joined the cast of the Telemundo reality show “Los 50”, which premiered its first season in July 2023. Due to a medical emergency, the influencer became the 26th contestant to be sent home, but was almost immediately cast for the fifth season of “Las estrellas bailan en Hoy”, a celebrity dancing show based on “Dancing with the Stars”.
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The medical emergency in question was a ruptured breast implant, which is why fans were surprised to learn that Dania would be returning to reality TV so soon. However, the social media star had by then recovered from her lengthy hospital stay, and also thanked fans for their support and concern. ‘I had my implant changed after ten years, which was necessary. I had to make the most of the anesthesia,’ she quipped on social media.
Dating History
From 2019 to 2021, Dania was in a relationship with Piso 21 musician Lorduy. The exact timeline is uncertain, and there aren’t many photos of videos of the former couple online; unfortunately, they apparently broke up when Dania caught him cheating.
The Columbian singer-songwriter is currently in a new relationship, whereas Dania was rumored to be dating Peso Pluma, one of 2023’s breakout stars in the Mexican music scene. Although Dania acted coy in interviews when asked about her dealings with the “Ella Baila Sola” hitmaker, they were reportedly spotted kissing in a restaurant in mid-2023.
It’s unclear when Dania and Peso first met, but the influencer was hired by the artist’s creative team to be the leading lady in one of his music videos, which was shot on the beaches of the Dominican Republic and contained plenty of romantic scenes.
However, despite months of speculations, Dania and Peso are not actually together. In early November 2023, the musician confirmed that he was dating rapper Nicki Nicole. Two weeks later, Peso and Nicki made their red-carpet debut at the Latin Grammy Awards.
Meanwhile, Dania has been romantically linked to various of her dance partners while filming for “Las estrellas bailan en Hoy”. Viewers have already been “shipping” her with celebrity hanger-on Agustin Fernandez for weeks, so when the pair danced together in a mid-November 2023 episode of the reality show and shared a kiss, both became a trending topic in a matter of hours.
As for Dania’s family, in May 2018 she dedicated a sweet Facebook post her mother, saying: ‘I’m proud of you, of your strength and values, thanks to them I’m a woman who’s full of love… Your light shines through!’. Dania also has a younger brother, Jaime Mendez, who prefers to stay out of the public eye; their father is believed to have left the family during his children’s younger years.
