Erika Kirk Shares One Of The Last Photos Taken Of Charlie & It Has His Fans In Tears

On September 17, 2025, the late Charlie Kirk's wife, Erika Kirk, took to Instagram to share one of the last photos ever taken of her husband. "You loved witnessing excellence. It's why you loved sports so much. You loved watching the best of the best perform at the level of greatness God intended for them," she began in a lengthy Instagram caption. Her post included a photo of Charlie standing among a large crowd, his right arm outstretched and waving, while holding several "Make America Great Again" caps in his left, preparing to toss them out to his excited supporters. 

"This is one of the last photos taken of you before you were murdered. I look at it and can't help but see excellence. You're in your element. You're in athlete mode. Training for this exact moment, mind, body, and soul. To me, this is your 'Jordan' photo," Erika said, referencing basketball Michael Jordan and the couple's shared sentiment about him being basketball's greatest of all time player. "Permanently etched in time, held in my heart, as I admire your greatness. Forever."

The sentimental post pulled on the heartstrings of many of Charlie's dedicated and loyal fan base. "The last sentence absolutely took my breath away. Erica, you're an amazing soul," one Instagram user penned in the comments section. Meanwhile, another wrote, "Thank you for sharing your memories and love story with us. Mourning with you [,] praying with you [,] love you so much."

Erika Kirk first broke her silence in a somber video message on September 12, merely two days after her husband was tragically gunned down while speaking to a crowd of an estimated 3000 people at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. He was immediately rushed to nearby Timpanogos Regional Hospital, where he was eventually pronounced dead at 31 years old. 

Erika's message was equal parts grateful, nostalgic, and defiant. In the more than 16 minutes she spoke, she started by thanking many for "their love and support," including law enforcement officials, first responders, board members of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk's staffers, President Donald Trump and his family, and Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance. (As it turns out, JD and Charlie had a tighter relationship than we ever knew.) 

Erika then took a few minutes to remember Charlie and his love for nature, America, the Chicago Cubs, the Oregon Ducks, his children, and her. "He was the perfect father. He was the perfect husband," she said. Eventually, however, the mood turned from one of remembrance to that of a call to action to Charlie's loyal fanbase. "You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry," she declared. "To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won't, I refuse to let that happen. ... All of us will refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband's name, and I will make sure of it."

On September 15, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's death, Erika Kirk also shared a throwback video of their family visiting Bill's Burgers in New York City — the same restaurant where Charlie first realized that Erika was the one. "Story time," he began in the video. "Right here, this very table," he told the couple's three-year-old daughter, who was perched on his lap, as he tapped the table. "That's where your journey started." Fans were just as moved by that video. "Oh my heart[.] What a loving husband and father," one Instagram user commented.

The couple has also shared the story of how their relationship began. In a video posted to Instagram in June 2021, they explained how they first met at a Turning Point USA office opening. The story goes that Charlie later direct-messaged Erika on Instagram, asking her to "shoot [him] a text," along with his phone number. "It was partially a job interview and also partially something else," Charlie confessed about the rogue direct message. 

According to Erika, she left him on read "for a few days" before finally texting him, asking what he wanted to speak about. Charlie then set up a time for them to meet for burgers. According to Erika, upon arriving at the burger joint, Charlie proceeded to grill her for three and a half hours "on every topic you could imagine is close to Charlie Kirk's heart." Afterward, instead of offering her a job, he promptly told her that he couldn't hire her because he wanted to date her. When she asked if they could start off as friends, he quipped that he had "enough friends." And the rest is history.