Influencer Emilie Kiser has been open with her followers about her grief journey in the months after son Trigg’s death at age 3.
News broke in May 2025 that Emilie and husband Brady Kiser’s eldest son died after being found unconscious in the family’s pool. Trigg’s death occurred more than one month after Emilie gave birth to the couple’s second child, son Theodore “Teddy,” in March.
Despite authorities initially recommending pressing criminal charges against Brady because he was the only adult home at the time of the accident, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office ultimately decided against it and said there was “no likelihood of conviction.”
In her first podcast since Trigg’s death, Emilie got candid about how she hopes to keep her eldest son’s memory alive.
“From the beginning, Brady and I told our families, I never want a world — and I never want Teddy to grow up in a world — where this is an avoided conversation,” Emilie shared during a June 2026 episode of the “On Purpose” podcast. “Because even though it is a hard conversation and it leads to a bigger conversation — I’m sure Teddy is going to have as many questions as he gets older — I never want a world where people don’t talk about him.”
Scroll down to see some of Emilie’s quotes about grief:
Emilie Kiser Reflects on a ‘Loss of This Magnitude’
When Emilie first addressed Trigg’s death in August 2025, she warned other parents about pool safety.
“Loss of this magnitude feels impossible to put into words. I’ve spent days, weeks, months trying to find them and also take the time I’ve needed to digest the loss of my baby,” she wrote on Instagram.
She continued, “I take full accountability as Trigg’s mother, and I know I should have done more to protect him. One of the hardest lessons I carry is that a permanent pool fence could have saved his life, and it’s something I will never overlook again. I hope amidst this pain, Trigg’s story will help prevent other children and families from suffering the same loss.”
Emilie Kiser Opens Up About ‘Never Ending’ Sadness of Child Loss
In an October 2025 Instagram Story upload, Emilie sent a message to other parents who are mourning.
“If you’re going through loss, I just want to say I’m here with you. It’s a never ending feeling of sadness,” she wrote, explaining that she has stopped fighting the waves of emotion that come with the death of a child.
“Feeling grief is so so important and to me, it’s hard and ugly, but it’s also a reminder of my infinite love for Trigg,” Kiser continued. “I know if my grief went away tomorrow, I would be sad. Because it would mean I’m not forever living with the memories of and feelings of loving him and missing him.”
Emilie Kiser Says the ‘Five Stages of Grief’ Don’t Apply to Child Loss
In a candid Instagram video in October 2025, Emilie shared that she attended a grief retreat that completely reshaped her understanding.
Emilie explained that she learned that the widely cited five stages of grief “are BS” and were never designed with child loss in mind. Instead of viewing grief as an enemy to overcome, she said she now visualizes coexisting with it and explained that the pain comes in waves.
Emilie Kiser Talks Learning to ‘Live With Grief’
In an April 2026 TikTok, Emilie responded to a message asking how she “healed the loss of your son in your marriage and forgave your husband.”
“You don’t heal from the loss, you learn to live with the grief. Lots of therapy and consistently,” she wrote at the time. “As well as [the] realization that everyone deserves love, empathy, and forgiveness.”
Through therapy, Emilie shared that she learned to “not [give] a crap about other people’s opinions.”
For more vital, life-saving information on pool safety, see Bode Miller’s tips and visit Coverstar’s website. This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usmagazine.com ’
