Playboy model turned actress Anna Nicole Smith medicated herself to sleep, believing she was able to connect to her late son in her final days, according to her former bodyguard.
Nineties pop culture icon Anna's cause of death is said to have stemmed from a broken heart which led her to mistakenly take a deadly cocktail of prescription drugs.
Anna reportedly turned to meds, including sleeping drug chloral hydrate combined with four benzodiazepines, after she was said to be unable to overcome the grief of her 20-year-old son Daniel's death.
That is the insight from bodyguard Big Moe, who protected the star for four years and found her body in a hotel room in Hollywood, Florida 2007.
Moe, who is also a trained paramedic, still "struggles" over whether he could have saved the star or forced her to rehab before she passed.
And the security expert revealed that the Naked Gun 33 1/3 actress almost died weeks earlier when she mistakenly came close to drowning.
Moe, real name Maurice Brighthaupt, has opened up about his thoughts on Anna in the wake of the hit Netflix documentary, Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me.
Moe spoke to Smith's close friends and celebrity designers Pol Atteu and Patrik Simpson on their podcast Undressed with Pol' and Patrik on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.
Anna never recovered from son Daniel dying on September 10, 2006, from a drug combination, including methadone and antidepressants, in Mexia, Texas, U.S.
The former Playmate Of The Year, 39, self medicated to vanquish the pain, but succumbed to an OD five months later (February 8 2007).
Moe said: "The night before I had a discussion with her and she said: 'The only time I get to see Daniel is when I'm sleeping.'
"And I don't say that to say she took her life, because I don't believe that is what happened. I believe it was an accidental overdose.
"What I am saying is that she felt more comfort (sleeping) like we do when you're depressed.
"What's the first thing you wanna do? Or if you're not feeling bad, you wanna lay down and go to sleep and try to sleep it off. Everyone does this, it's human nature.
"The first thing was that she loved Daniel so much. She didn't die of an overdose or being on drugs. She died of a broken heart. Right? He was here just as long as she could be."
Moe opened up to Pol and Patrik, who are famous for their Amazon reality show Gown And Out In Beverly Hills.
Patrik shot down claims that have emerged in recent years that Anna never had any significant drug or narcotic issues.
"Everyone thinks Anna Nicole is this giant heroin drug addict? She really was not. And she would just take s***. Take more s***, forget, take more. Am I not correct? It's not like she was there shooting up in the bedroom."
Moe confirmed: "She never shot up anything. She didn't do a lot of drugs.
"Yes she takes Xanax and pain pills.
"Being in the profession that I am, people sometimes rely on stuff like that. I remember her having a bunch of pills in the room.
"And I went to talk to her doctor in the Bahamas and I said maybe we should give her some placebo. And then after about 20 minutes she's all: 'I feel so much better.' I know there wasn't anything in those. But in her mind, she needed it so bad. And if you can give her some to say this is going to help you sleep, she will fall asleep then."
Patrik saw Anna simply neck pills because she never had a prescribed routine and "a high tolerance for medication".
Asked if they could have done anything to save Anna, pensive Moe reacted: "I've been struggling with that for 16 years. She was around enablers and sometimes it's human nature to enable somebody to the simple fact you want them happy.
"Outside of actually forcing to go into a rehab there was nothing we could do. And then this day and age, you would, if someone is coherent enough, you cannot force them to do anything."
Another revelation from Patrik and Pol's interview was that Anna almost lost her life in the weeks running up to her death after a near drowning in Florida.
Smith, who gave birth to daughter Dannielynn, on September 7, 2006 in the Bahamas, almost drowned in a swimming pool.
Moe revealed: "But one time when she was in her little depression and she took a little bit too much (meds).
"She went out in the pool and went to the bottom of the pool and I had to dive in to get her and brought it back right there while it was just me, her and Howard on the computer doing stuff.
"When she went down, I heard the water go down and then I screamed and dived in and got her.
"It wasn't that she was trying to kill herself or anything like that.
"There was a floatie that he likes to float on and I guess stuff he was on a bed or something flipped over and she went all the way to bottom of the pool. I remember I got her revived at the time.
"I believe like a week later she ended up with pneumonia."
Patrik confirmed that in her early stages of being a mom to Dannielynn, she fought her life in hospital.
"Nobody knew she was in the hospital for pneumonia that never made it to the press. Nobody knew about that."
Moe added: "Pneumonia means fluid in the lungs. When she went down, apparently she took in a little bit."
The full episode of Moe's interview is now available.
Moe spoke to set the record straight about Anna's image: "I want her to be remembered as a loving person that lost something, lost someone that she really cared and loved.
"No one gives her that. All they think of her is as a gold digging, blonde bombshell lady on drugs."
Patrik and Pol are developing their book Portrait Of An Icon about their friendship with Anna into a movie. LA production house Island Illusion Entertainment has the rights with Jack Andrew Cook as director.
If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch.
Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email frank@talktofrank.com, message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.
If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at childbereavementuk.org or you can call them on 0800 02 888 40.
