Kryst leaped to her death on January 30 from her apartment in Midtown Manhattan.
Trigger Warning: This article contains discussions about suicide that some readers may find distressing.
Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst’s mother, April Simpkins, has been gravely impacted by the news of Stephen “tWitch” Boss’s untimely demise. Having lost her own daughter to suicide at the age of 30, Simpkins can feel the pain Boss’ mother is suffering from at the moment. According to TODAY, Simpkins revealed how Boss’ passing had “put her on the outside looking in.”
"I saw a news flash on my computer and that's how I learned of his passing and I imagine for some, that's how they learned of Cheslie's passing. I immediately went into disbelief and wanted to understand what had happened, and then it just triggered those same feelings for me, and my heart ached for him,” she told the outlet. As a mother who has lost her child, Simpkins can empathize with Stephen’s mom, Connie Boss Alexander, and she can relate to the difficulties one faces while mourning their child who was a public figure.
"It’s easy to make this assumption that they were this person 24/7 when they were not," she explains."It’s difficult dealing with your grief while simultaneously having so many people who did not know her personally want to speak about her. My job was not to convince other people of who she was but to hold tight to who I know she was," Simpkins adds.
According to CBS, Simpkins spoke about her daughter’s high-functioning depression. "Depression doesn't always look like someone is sad or burdened. It is something that for Cheslie, she learned to live with.” The mother-and-daughter duo was more like best friends and when Kryst passed away, Simpkins had to attend grief counseling sessions, something she would recommend to people who are struggling to deal with their individual losses and trying to recover from it.
Sharing her daughter’s memories and accomplishments on social media also helped Simpkins deal with her grief. “I allowed myself to just be flooded with memories of Cheslie, and a number of those memories I shared on my social media so that some people who did not know her personally could see glimpses into her life outside of what was shown so publicly. Remembering her in that way helped me tremendously, and I continue to do that,” she said.
Almost a year after Kryst’s death, Simpkins felt a similar blow of pain when the news of the dancer and DJ, tWitch’s death was made public. She might have healed a lot and is not in the same state of mind where she was in January but she is “grieving because tWitch’s family is now in the same place.” Simpkins shares how important it is to listen to your loved ones who are struggling with depression.
"There were times when Cheslie would talk about something and as she continued to talk about it, I knew that had triggered something in her. When I look in hindsight, I see it more. It's not that I ignored it. I did address it with her," she recalled. Simpkins also shared a post on her Instagram, remembering tWitch, and extended her “sincerest and heartfelt prayers to his family.”
If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is, please contact The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is, please contact The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
References:
https://www.today.com/health/news/twitch-death-cheslie-kryst-mom-rcna62756
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/miss-usa-cheslie-kryst-april-simpkins/
Cover Image source: April Simpkins/Instagram
