Her idol, Michael Jackson, died and she could not find the white gloves or sparkly socks in her vast collection honouring the King of Pop.
The 33-year-old Dunedin pharmacist and self-confessed Michael Jackson "nut" said it was "very sad . . . he was my boy".
Since the age of 7, when she first washed her parents' car so they would buy her the Thriller album, Miss Tremain had amassed thousands of dollars worth of Jackson memorabilia. She even got a Jackson insignia tattoo to mark her 25th birthday.
She also starred in an Australian-made documentary series on Jackson in 1995.
Her collection was now packed away, partly because it was "difficult to dust" and her fiance was not keen to be reminded of the other man in her life, she said.
Dressed yesterday in a Jackson replica costume she made, Miss Tremain recalled how she almost met the singer in 1996 when he performed in Auckland.
A member of the now-defunct New Zealand-based fan club, Forever Michael Jackson, she and a few fans were set to meet Jackson, but it was cancelled at the last minute - "I thought it was too good to be true."
When asked what she would have said to the singer, she said "I would have just liked to have seen him smile."
But she did have a close encounter. After watching him perform at his first concert at Mt Smart Stadium, she queued for six hours in the rain before the second concert and was rewarded with a front-row view.
"He looked straight at me."
As her 18th birthday present to herself, Miss Tremain taught herself to moonwalk, Jackson's signature dance move.
She claims she is not a singer, but her dance moves have resulted in invitations to perform as a Michael Jackson impersonator at 21sts, graduation dinners and 40th-birthday parties.
She conceded Jackson was unusual. Too often, the more unusual aspects of his personal life were a distraction from his music.
"I hope people... remember him for his immense talent."
Jackson's music was in demand in Dunedin yesterday. CD and DVD Store retail assistant Megan Wallis said the shop had only one Jackson CD left at 6.30pm.
Jackson was the second celebrity to die yesterday. Actress Farrah Fawcett (62) died in Los Angeles.
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