Trigger warning: suicide.
Cheslie Kryst’s mother has revealed her daughter’s tragic final text message before her suicide.
Her mother, April Simpkins, recently appeared on Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris to ‘set the record straight’ about how her daughter tragically died.
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Cheslie’s cause of death was officially confirmed as suicide, Variety previously wrote.
“On January 30th of this year, Cheslie jumped to her death from her 29th-floor balcony,” at 30-years-old, Jada explained on the talk show.
“The morning of her passing, Cheslie left a note in her apartment. It was very simple, [it] just said she wanted to leave everything to me,” April explained.
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“Sunday mornings Cheslie knows I go to work out at my exercise class. I was leaving my class, I was gonna call her on my way home, and when I looked at my phone I noticed there was a text message from her.
“The first thing she said is, ‘First, I’m sorry. By the time you get this, I won’t be alive anymore, and it makes me even more sad to write this because I know it will hurt you the most,’” the pageant titleholder wrote.
April continued reading the text message from her daughter: “‘I love you mom and you are my best friend and the person I’ve lived for, for years. I wish I could stay with you but I cannot bear the crushing weight of persistent sadness, hopelessness and loneliness any longer.
“‘I’ve never told you these feelings because I never wanted you to worry and because I hoped they would eventually change but I know they never will. They follow me through every accomplishment, success, family gathering, friendly dinner. I cry almost every day now, like I’m in mourning. I’ve wished for death for years and I know you would want to know and want to help, but I haven’t wanted to share this weight with anyone.
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“‘Regardless of that, thank you sincerely for being there for me in some of my loneliest moments without me even telling you I needed you. You have kept me alive and ready to face another day because you answer every phone call and you are there for me at the drop of a hat. You listen to me and care when I tell you what goes on in my life, and you’ve always made me feel like you love me.
“‘I love you more than any person I’ve ever known. You’ve done nothing wrong, you’ve done everything right. I no longer feel like I have any purpose in life. I don't know if I ever really did.’” April read.
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The bereaved mother also told the talk-show hosts that “by the time I had read the text, an hour had passed,’ adding that she took the text message seriously as this was her daughter’s second time attempting suicide.
April also told the mother-daughter trio that the text detailed her daughter’s final wishes, which she did not reveal on the show, as well as skipping past the more personal parts of the text.
Cheslie’s mother explained that she knew her daughter had depression, but ‘didn’t know the severity of it’, explaining that she realised Cheslie’s ‘smiles were a little forced’.
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“I don’t know that I’m going to get over the grief,” April said. “I’m trying to accept that grief and I are going to do life together.”
If you or someone you know has thoughts of suicide, call the Samaritans on 116 123, or in the US call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Topics: Celebrity, TV And Film