Married billionaire mogul Peter Thiel, whose male model boyfriend Jeff Thomas died after plunging from a Miami high rise last month – had a messy confrontation with his husband during the couple's New Year's Eve party after Thomas was discovered among the guests, DailyMail.com can now reveal.
Thomas was in a three-year relationship with PayPal co-founder Thiel, who put him up in a $13 million dollar mansion tucked in the Hollywood Hills, gifted him with lavish European trips, a $300,000 sports car, and access to the most coveted parties in town.
And now their circle of friends believe that Thomas's death, a suspected suicide, was related at least in part to his depression over the incident, after which he was financially cut off from Thiel's largesse.
The exchange took place when Matt Danzeisen, Thiel's husband and longtime partner, arrived separately to join the New Year celebration, only to discover Thomas was one of the partygoers at the posh event held at Thiel's Miami Beach compound.
Danzeisen, 56, was enraged that Thomas was among the attendees and started a verbal confrontation with Thiel that took place in front of a roomful of guests, witnesses say.
Sources told DailyMail.com that the romance between the 55-year-old Thiel and the 35-year-old Thomas – 20 years his junior – was an 'open secret' in elite gay circles, particularly in Los Angeles.
Thomas knew that Thiel was married, but whether or not Danzeisen was aware of Thiel's relationship with Thomas is uncertain.
Yet, during the confrontation, Danzeisen was overheard asking Thiel: 'Why is HE here?'
Thomas showed up at the party because he had been Thiel's kept lover for years, though he was not on the official guest list approved by Danzeisen. He went to the New Year's event – one that the power couple have become famous for throwing – to celebrate with friends who flew in from all over the world.
A text message and a photo obtained by DailyMail.com shows smiling Thomas at the party – with friends Chris Farmer and Drew Schiff – taken in the back yard of Thiel's property.
During the night's festivities, a photo taken by Thomas with Farmer and Schiff was accompanied by a text wishing his former boyfriend in London a Happy New Year.
Danzeisen was the person who arranged the guest list for the exclusive event, according to a source, which made Thomas's presence at the family home even more shocking and upsetting for Thiel's husband.
Friends said Thomas would never have gone to the invitation-only event if he knew Thiel's husband would be attending.
After the blow up, Danzeisen requested that Thomas be escorted from the party by the couple's security detail.
Some witnesses say the incident was 'publicly humiliating' for Thomas. Nearly 100 guests attended the event at Thiel's lavish estate on Rivo Alto Island – one of the man-made Venetian islands in Biscayne Bay – including close friends of the couple and employees from Thiel Capital.
On March 8, weeks after the New Year's Eve showdown, Thomas died after falling from the balcony of his Miami high rise in what police are investigating as a possible suicide.
An official cause of death has not yet been established.
Friends witnessed Thomas's mental health decline after the trauma at the New Year's Eve party.
Independent researchers and reporter Ryan Grim from The Intercept obtained an exclusive interview with Jeff Thomas that took place before the midterm elections for a not-yet-completed series on Thiel.
Thomas felt compelled to talk about Thiel's hypocrisy as an active gay man who is also the largest funder of Donald Trump's MAGA movement.
During the interview, Thomas described himself as a 'kept' boyfriend of Thiel, whose estimated worth is $8.14 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaire's Index.
The German-American venture capitalist became romantically involved with Thomas in late 2019 – sometime before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The stunning model provided physical intimacy and in exchange Thiel furnished Thomas with financial support and financial stability, a source told DailyMail.com.
During their nearly three-year romance, Thiel put Thomas up in a $13 million dollar mansion tucked in the Hollywood Hills, gifted him with lavish European trips, a $300,000 sports car, and access to the most coveted parties in town.
But, after the New Year's Eve confrontation Thomas was cut off financially by Thiel, sources say.
A source told DailyMail.com that Thomas apparently violated the terms of his non- disclosure agreement with Thiel after he spoke to the media and that is when their relationship began to fray.
Thomas spoke openly about his struggles with mental health and appeared devastated and hurt by the New Year's Eve fiasco.
He frequently posted selfies of himself – on the beach, at the gym, with his Frenchie named Birkin – sharing his goals that included working on himself in the year ahead.
One of these goals was becoming a Miami firefighter. He enrolled in EMT classes and was studying for his license.
Forty-eight hours before his death he was Facetiming with his family sharing his excitement about completing his EMT course and his future in Miami.
At 11:43am on March 8, only hours before his death, Thomas posted a selfie – relaxing in a plunge pool with the caption: 'A cold plunge a day, keeps the doctor away,' with the hashtags #coldplunge #wellness #mentalhealth.
Thomas revealed in the not-yet published audio interview obtained by DailyMail.com that he believed Thiel was going to supply him with a monthly allowance in perpetuity and that it would be written into legal documents.
However, it is unclear whether those legal documents exist.
In the interview Thomas spoke about losing his way in a toxic relationship and had conversations with Thiel about how to best part ways.
Thomas's tragic and untimely death sent shockwaves through the modeling and entertainment industry and gay community.
A police report shared with DailyMail.com shows that Miami police were called to the luxury building at 465 Brickell Avenue on March 8 at 4:12pm.
When emergency personnel arrived, Thomas's body was found on the pool deck outside the luxury Icon Brickell complex. He was pronounced dead by Miami Fire Rescue at 4:24pm.
Thomas's dog was taken by animal control officers, and his ex-boyfriend, Dimitris, who had a Frenchie from the same litter, is now taking care of it, a source said.
A police spokesperson from the Miami Police Department said 'the investigation is open and ongoing' but was unable to release further details when contacted by DailyMail.com.
Two sources with knowledge of the investigation told The Intercept that detectives have been in contact with Thiel and plan to interview him as part of the probe.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Thiel.
After Thomas's death, a friend sent a message to his ex-boyfriend expressing his condolences along with an article about his tragic passing, and made a reference regarding the New Year's party.
The friend said: 'I did wonder why he [Thomas] was at Peter's party for New Year's when Matt had no idea who he was,' he wrote. 'That might make sense then.'
An autopsy was completed on March 10 and the toxicology report is still pending, Sandra Boyd, Director of Operations for the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's office told DailyMail.com.
Boyd was unable to provide further comment on Thomas's manner and cause of death citing that the case is an ongoing investigation.
In audio transcripts obtained by DailyMail.com, Thomas spoke about his relationship with Thiel.
'So did Peter want me to be his boyfriend? Yes, you know. I think he fantasized about being like me versus maybe Matt sometimes. But, I think we can all love multiple people,' he said.
'I tried to understand Peter's needs because he was understanding mine. You know, I think he knew I needed help and I asked for it. And basically, anything I asked, I could get.'
But, Thomas also spoke about the downsides of being 'kept.'
'It is stressful. Peter wanted me to get, you know, the nicest car, the nicest house. He kind of wanted to show me his power, to kind of show that he had, you know, me in his dollhouse.'
He added, 'He would take care of me always but I don't think it is very satisfying to be kept.'
During their first intimate lunch at Thiel's home in the Hollywood Hills in late 2019, Thomas learned more about Thiel's relationship with his partner.
'I was actually shocked when they announced they were having kids together,' he said in the audio transcript.
Thomas, who described himself as a 'proud pet dad' also revealed Thiel's aversion to dogs.
'I think it was one of first lunches we had at Metz Place and we were sitting outside and I said, 'Do you like dogs? He said, 'No.' And, I said, 'Well, I don't trust you.'
A photo of Thomas in the plunge pool was taken the day he died. It was time stamped at 11:43 am with the caption, 'A cold plunge a day keeps the doctor away.'
The billionaire financier first met Thomas in 2015-2016 at the Coachella Music Festival. At the time, Thiel was dating a boy named Francesco 'Fran' Lugli.
Thiel broke off his relationship with Lugli when he decided to marry Danzeisen. The pair wed in Vienna, Austria in October 2017. They recently became the parents of two baby girls born by surrogate.
Some say part of Thiel and Danzeisen's arrangement included Thiel remaining faithful to his partner and best friend.
Sources told DailyMail.com that Thiel and Lugli remained friends – long after the breakup – and Thiel hooked Lugli up with a cushy-tech job at his data mining spy- tech firm, Palantir Technologies.
Many were shocked and saddened after news of Thomas's death broke and expressed their condolences on social media including a thousand posts on Instagram alone.
Thiel will be honored and presented with the Edmund Burke Award for service to 'culture and society' at a fancy black tie gala at the Metropolitan Club in New York on April 27 by celebrating The New Criterion's fifth decade.
Thiel will deliver remarks on 'The diversity myth.' Tickets to the event start at $15,000 to $100,000.
The tribute to Thiel will be taking place the same week – possibly the same day – as Thomas, who was cremated, will be memorialized at a service held in his hometown of Frisco, Texas.
Thomas also shared in the interview that he spoke to Thiel about his move to Miami and his transition away from being kept.
'I saw the spark in me fade away and it was toxic and it was unhealthy. I had multiple talks with myself this year about getting out of it.'
Peter Thiel did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
