Mystery deepens over missing mum-of-two as her 'wellness guru' ex breaks his silence - and reveals how a trip to Dubai changed her completely: 'I didn't recognise her'

The ex-husband of a mother-of-two who mysteriously disappeared in Sydney's eastern suburbs almost four months ago has opened up about her trip to Dubai where 'something definitely happened to her'.British-born Katie Walker, 46, was last seen on CCTV walking down Alexander Street in Tamarama at 1.12pm on Saturday, May 23, wearing high-heeled boots, jeans, a black coat, and carrying her favourite $2,000 red Medusa '95 Versace handbag.Her family raised the alarm with police ten days later, on June 2. She was never seen again.While police believe Ms Walker went down steps to the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk and clambered over the rocks to reach the ocean, her friends and family say that's highly unlikely.They said she wouldn't have worn high heels to climb over rocks and sand, and even if she had, someone would have seen a glamorous woman struggling to get to the water at lunchtime on a Saturday in a tourist hotspot.Ms Walker also had two suitcases packed at her rental apartment in Darling Point, she had called Flight Centre about booking tickets out of Australia, and her phone pinged at a tower in Bondi at 7.40pm that night - about six hours after she vanished.And now, someone is deleting Ms Walker's social media photos, her Telegram account, and images from her jewellery website, and friends and family have no idea who's behind it.Her friend, who didn't want to be identified due to safety concerns, has told the Mail that Ms Walker thought she was being stalked in Dubai and Sydney. The friend now believes the missing mum is the victim of human trafficking.Ms Walker's ex-husband, US-based wellness guru Dean Taraborelli, has also told the Mail that he doesn't know what happened to her once she left their home in Arizona to go to Dubai in late 2023, but she 'changed'. Katie Walker went missing in Sydney in May. She is pictured in Dubai in April 2025 Katie Walker was married to Dean Taraborelli (pictured) for six years, until their divorce in 2024 Pictured: The last known sighting of Katie Walker, 46, walking down Alexander Street in Tamarama'She was suddenly really dressed up with fake eyelashes and taking all these pictures with rich people in Dubai and putting them on social media,' Mr Taraborelli said.'I barely recognised her, but Katie was able to fit into any situation when she needed to.'Mr Taraborelli and the friend were both surprised by the CCTV image of Ms Walker looking glamorous in Tamarama, and by the images she posted on social media from Dubai, because she only wore flip flops, shorts, and a loose top in Arizona.'Something definitely happened to her in Dubai because she really changed, whether she was stalked or something, I don't know,' Mr Taraborelli said.He said she could be erratic, reckless with money, and had a fiery temper, which he believes could be attributed to borderline personality disorder (BPD).During the six years they were married, they were surrounded by therapists and health care professionals while living at his luxury rehabilitation facility, The Sanctuary.Mr Taraborelli said Ms Walker spoke to some therapists at the facility, but not in an official capacity. She never properly addressed her struggles, and she never had a diagnosis.He never knew her to be delusional or suicidal. A friend said Katie Walker didn't dress up at all when she lived in Arizona (pictured). When she moved to Dubai, she 'changed completely' Katie Walker is pictured in Dubai, after her divorce settlement. Her friends were surprised by the way she dressed in Dubai because they knew her to wear shorts and flip flops Katie Walker went to the 2025 Oscars in LA (pictured). Her friend said it was likely to sell her jewelleryIn the months before their separation in late 2023, Mr Taraborelli said Ms Walker was clearly feeling restless, she was miserable, and nothing he did made her happy.She went to Dubai right after they separated and they never spoke again.Mr Taraborelli gave her about $500,000 in the divorce settlement.'It was enough for her to set herself up somewhere,' he said.Ms Walker filled her Facebook page with glamorous selfies at hotels in Dubai and while sightseeing between late 2023 and early 2026. She also jetted off to France, and later attended the Oscars in LA in March 2025 in a likely attempt to sell her jewellery, with prices ranging between $8000 and $24,000.The friend - who says Ms Walker didn't have any mental health struggles - said things started going awry post-divorce, when she invested $200,000 in a blockchain company in Dubai in 2024, but couldn't get the money back when she asked for it in late 2025.After that, in early 2026, a man with an Australian accent said 'hello, gorgeous' to Ms Walker in the lobby of her five-star hotel in Dubai. She barely engaged with him. Katie Walker is pictured with a member of the band, Kool and the Gang, at the 2025 Oscars Katie Walker is pictured in Dubai May 2025, a year before she vanished Katie Walker is pictured sight-seeing in Dubai in May 2025'That happened all the time because she really is beautiful, the photos don't do her justice,' the friend said.At 5am the following morning, the same Australian man told hotel reception that he was her husband and entered her hotel room with two other men, the friend said.Ms Walker was terrified and started screaming, 'F***, f***, f***'. Her cries alerted other guests and the men quickly left the room, she said.When hotel staff showed her the CCTV of the break-in, she recognised the Australian man from the lobby. She also recognised his voice during the break-in, but she was in a state of panic at the time.In February, Ms Walker went to Australia to try to reconnect with her two teenage children who lived with their father in Sydney.Soon after that, she told her friend that she saw the same Australian man on a Sydney beach.'It's just too much of a coincidence,' the friend said.'And then I'm talking to her and she's saying "I'm being followed", and that's exactly opposite of Katie because she's always so free-spirited - she was the opposite of paranoid, she was the type who wouldn't lock her door or something.' Katie Walker is pictured on a camel outside Dubai in January 2025 Pictured: Alexander Street in Tamarama, where Ms Walker was last seen, leading down Gaerloch Avenue. Police believe she walked down the steps to the oceanWhile Mr Taraborelli believes that while she may have had BPD, there's no suggestion from him, her family or friends that she had delusions or anxiety to the point of paranoia.'I think it's a human trafficking thing,' the friend said.'Traffickers need to find people that don't have daily connections - Katie had friends, but she didn't talk to anyone every day, so I think she's a perfect target.'She's beautiful, she was vulnerable because she was recently divorced, and she came from money.'The last time the friend spoke to Ms Walker was in early April. They had video conversations where Ms Walker was in tears.By then, Ms Walker was out of money, her father Bassam Shlewet was paying $995 per week for her unit in Darling Point, and she was at a loss.The friend tried to send her money to help, but it was hard getting hold of Ms Walker. While friends and family agree that Ms Walker's life was in shambles by the time she disappeared in May, they don't believe she took her own life. Police say Ms Walker may have walked down these stone steps (pictured), climbed over the rocks, and taken her own life She was too dressed up, she wasn't headed for a cliff, none of her possessions have washed up on the shore, her phone pinged at Bondi six hours after she supposedly drowned herself in the ocean, and her bags were packed inside her unit.Her father has hired a private investigator to find out what happened to his daughter.Ms Walker is described as slim with brown eyes, long brown hair, about 172cm tall with a small black butterfly tattoo on her right hand.Anyone who has seen her is urged to contact NSW Police through the Crime Stoppers line on 1800 333 000. If this story has raised issues for you, call Lifeline on 13 11 14Do you know more? Email charlotte.karp@dailymail.com.au - READ MORE: Proof missing mother Katie Walker was trying to return to the UK when police say she walked into the ocean: Father reveals what was found in her apartment, how she lost $200k and the mystery man he fears may be 'hiding' her