10 Photos of Tatyana Remley: Socialite Who Hired a Hitman to Kill Her Husband

The turbulent life of Tatyana Remley, a California socialite whose story read like a film noir, has ended in tragedy outside a San Diego bar. The 44-year-old, known for a lifestyle marked by mansions, polo matches, and a murder-for-hire plot against her own husband, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday night.

Remley's final moments unfolded in San Diego's Little Italy district. Shortly before 9:00 pm on 18 December, she FaceTimed her estranged husband, Mark Remley, from a bathroom stall at the Princess Pub & Grille. 'I'm with this guy and he's being a jerk,' she told him. Mark, concerned for her safety, offered to call 911, but she refused his help. 'No, I got this,' she said before hanging up. It was their last conversation. Moments later, Remley was dead.

Tatyana Remley's High-Stakes Marriage and Scandalous Fall

The Remleys' marriage was a spectacle of wealth and volatility that captivated tabloids for over a decade. The couple met 15 years ago in the exclusive Del Mar enclave, bonding over a shared love for equestrian sports and a hedonistic lifestyle funded by Mark's £24 million ($30 million) real estate fortune.

Their public exploits included a short-lived, multi-million-pound equestrian show, Valitar, which collapsed after just a few performances in 2012. They also courted controversy by appearing on the Showtime docuseries Naked SNCTM, which offered a glimpse inside an elite sex club. 'Sex is probably the biggest part of our lives,' Mark admitted on the show.

But beneath the glamour, the relationship was fracturing. Things reached a fever pitch in July 2023 when Tatyana filed for divorce. Her court documents were filled with wild claims, including an allegation that Mark's friends had terrorised her by leaving a horse's head in her bed—a story Mark flatly rejected as fantasy.

Tatyana Remley and the Murder Plot That Shocked California

The bitterness shifted from civil court to criminal charges in August 2023. That was when the authorities stepped in, arresting Tatyana for trying to find a hitman to end Mark's life. Investigators set up a sting operation at a Starbucks, where she met with an undercover detective posing as an assassin. She was charged with solicitation of murder and weapons offences.

She pleaded guilty and served one year of a nearly four-year sentence before her early release in January. However, freedom didn't bring peace.

In September, she was arrested again on arson charges for allegedly setting fire to the couple's £4.8 million ($6 million) Del Mar mansion years earlier. Mark had secretly recorded her admitting to the crime, leading to her arrest.

Despite these legal battles, the couple's bond remained strangely unbroken. Mark told the Daily Mail that they had reconnected after her release, and Tatyana had even expressed a desire to reconcile.

Mark Remley's Anguish Over a System Failure

In the wake of her death, Mark expressed both grief and frustration with the legal system. He questioned how Tatyana, a convicted felon facing new arson charges, was free on bail and able to obtain a firearm.

'I just know she would be alive if this DA and this judge didn't allow her to get out without bail,' Mark said, fighting back tears.

'I don't understand how someone who was convicted of murder-for-hire and was again arrested for arson was allowed to roam the streets with a gun! She was mentally ill and definitely should not have been out of that jail.'

Mark is now coordinating with Tatyana's previous partners to arrange her funeral, leaving the difficult task of informing her two children of their mother's demise to their respective fathers.