In the world of social media influencers, Emilie Kiser has long been associated with the image of a perfect, vibrant young mother. Yet, behind the glamour lies a wound that has never fully healed since May 2025. For the first time, the 27-year-old decided to step out of her comfort zone to confront the past, opening up about the darkest chapter of her life on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast.

An Unspeakable Tragedy

It began like any other ordinary day, only to end in an unimaginable accident: Trigg, her three-year-old son, passed away after drowning in the family’s backyard pool. At the time, her husband, Brady Kiser, was at home looking after their two children. It was a loss of seismic proportions—an agony beyond words.

When asked about the process of overcoming such grief, Emilie offered a perspective that left listeners stunned: “When you lose your child, you really don’t care about anything else besides doing your best to get through it. And there’s not even a ‘through it’. You don’t get through it.”

A Journey Through Anger

In the initial weeks following her son’s death, Emilie could not avoid the surge of resentment. She candidly admitted to feeling immense anger toward her husband, Brady, and even contemplated the possibility of ending their marriage as it teetered on the brink. However, empathy eventually allowed her to view the situation through a more humanizing and compassionate lens.

Emilie realized that, in that very situation, she could just as easily have been the one bearing the weight of the tragedy. Reflecting on the moment she left for dinner that evening, she recalled: “This could have just as easily been me in Brady’s position. Brady was taking care of our newborn child. When I left for dinner that night, he was de-thawing my breast milk, trying to get Teddy settled. That doesn’t excuse anything. It doesn’t excuse what happened. It doesn’t excuse any of the series of events after that.”

Healing Through Pure Empathy

That mutual understanding forged a unique bond between the couple. Rather than allowing their grief to fracture their relationship, they faced every wave of emotion together. Emilie expressed deep pride in her husband’s strength: “We’ve really done our best to grieve together and to talk through every emotion and every feeling. I really give Brady so much empathy and respect. I have so much respect for him, honestly, and I think that would maybe shock people. But he has allowed me to take out every emotion I’ve had throughout this process, whether it’s on him or talking to him or with other people.”

She further emphasized the patience Brady extended to her: “I just have so much respect for that, of how much he has let me feel every emotion and he’s never made me feel bad for it. He’s going through so much as well, and like I said, we are the only two people that can understand at all what the other person is going through.”

Acceptance and Compassion

Deep down, Emilie found solace by placing herself in her husband’s shoes. She shared: “This could have been me … I would so deeply want him to forgive me and to know that I didn’t mean for it to happen. That’s exactly how I feel for Brady. I really just have so much empathy and love for him and he is so strong. I’m really proud of us, honestly, and how we’ve grieved together.”

Legally, although authorities in Maricopa County initially considered filing criminal charges against Brady due to his presence at the scene, they ultimately decided against it, citing no likelihood of conviction. For Emilie Kiser, her story is not merely one of loss, but a testament to navigating adversity through grace. While her life still bears the empty spaces that can never be filled, she continues to share her journey on social media—a way to honor the memory of little Trigg and the path of healing she shares with her partner.