Celebrity - News
FORMER MISS USA'S MOTHER REVEALS HER HAUNTING
LAST TEXT
By DM
The following story contains discussion of suicide.
Content Warning
Dedicated reporter and beauty queen Cheslie Kryst, who won Miss USA in 2019, was found dead outside her apartment building in February 2022. Authorities ruled Kryst's death a suicide, and her mother, April Simpkins, confirmed this — and now Simpkins has revealed the last text message she received from Kryst.
"First, I'm sorry," Kryst wrote. "By the time you get this, I won't be alive anymore [...] You've done nothing wrong. You've done everything right [...] I've fought against depression for a long time, but it's won this time around." Kryst told Simpkins to share the message so people could know she was "the best mom to me".
Simpkins opened up about her daughter's death on the latest episode of Facebook Watch's "Red Table Talk," saying she finds it "healing" to talk about Kryst, who she described as her "best friend." She shared that Kryst, 30, attempted suicide in her "early 20s," and the two grew closer afterward.
Kryst's family is still keeping her memory alive; they celebrated the former attorney's 31st birthday on April 28. They also announced that Dress for Success, the Wake Forest University School of Law, the University of South Carolina, and The Deal's List have set up charitable funds in Kryst's honor.