Netflix star Sara Burack, once a Hamptons realtor on Million Dollar Beach House, was facing mental health struggles and “homeless by choice” when killed in a hit-and-run last week, her former boyfriend says.
Mike White, Burack’s ex and close friend who was by her side in the hospital upon her death, told the New York Post that she was seeking shelter on June 19 as she wheeled a pink suitcase through the streets. Burack was allegedly hit by a vehicle and was found unconscious in the middle of the road around 2:45 a.m.
Suspected driver Amanda Kempton, 32, was later charged with leaving the scene of the fatal crash, a felony carrying up to four years in prison. Her lawyer told the court that she thought she hit a traffic cone. Kempton pleaded not guilty and was released on $100,000 bail.
“She [Burack] was staying in bank foyers,” White, 56, told The Post, emphasizing it was her decision. Burack had reportedly sold her car and condo last year.
“She wasn’t driving anymore. She didn’t lose her apartment; she sold it. She didn’t have financial problems at all,” White said. “She just didn’t want to deal with anything anymore.”
He said Burack’s family was deeply concerned about her mental health and “never gave up” on her.
“Her mom was going to get her an apartment— she didn’t want it. She said it was bugged by the US government,” White said. “Her poor mother did everything. Her mom and her dad are the nicest parents in the world.”
A spokesperson for the Burack family told The Post in a statement, “People say all kinds of things when someone dies. However, the fact remains that our daughter, Sara, was run over and left for dead by a 32-year-old woman who claims she thought she hit a cone.”
“Our family is in deep mourning and we will not comment further as we try to digest the loss of our beloved daughter who was a loving sister and friend to many,” the spokesperson concluded.
White, 56, said he met Burack around 2019 at a gym in Southampton. They briefly dated, and he praised her as an “angel” who helped him rent homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that Burack was a “workaholic times 10” who allegedly became reliant on pills.
“She kept taking Adderall to stay awake and keep working,” White said. “She was trying to work longer and longer, staying up for all types of hours.”
Burack starred in Million Dollar Beach House in 2020. By 2022, her behavior had shifted, White said, aligning with a $200,000 commission dispute over a Southampton property involving her employer, Nest Seekers, and Douglas Elliman.
“She was obsessed with losing her listing and not getting her commission,” White, who sold the home as the builder, said.
Nest Seekers Hamptons area regional manager Geoff Gifkins reportedly told The Post, “We don’t comment on pending litigation, and given the tragic events over the last week, it should not be the focus.”
According to White, Burack became increasingly paranoid and withdrawn, believing others were out to get her and trying to put anthrax in her food.
In her final days, White said Burack wasn’t eating regularly, avoided carrying money, and spent most of her time at the library “constantly researching things for no clear reason.”
He said Burack reached out shortly before her death, asking for food money. White said he gave her enough money for food and the bus.
”I still don’t understand,” he said. “Maybe she was just tired of it. Sometimes you become a slave to money and your career.”
White believes Burack’s decline began when people distanced themselves during her struggles.
“She had a million friends. She had material things, immaterial things. She had everything,” he said. But when her life took a downturn, “they all scattered.”
