Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst’s mother reveals daughter’s final message before her death
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Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst: 1991-2022
Cheslie Kryst, the Charlotte lawyer with deep ties to the Carolinas and later became the 2019 Miss USA, died by suicide in January 2022.
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April Simpkins “nearly blacked out” after receiving what would be the final text message from her daughter, former Miss USA and Charlotte attorney Cheslie Kryst.
Kryst, 30, died by suicide in New York City in late January, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. Simpkins appeared on an episode of Jada Pinkett Smith’s “Red Table Talk” published Wednesday to share more about her daughter’s battle against “high-functioning depression.”
“I knew Cheslie was suffering from depression, but I didn’t know the severity of it,” Simpkins said on the Facebook Watch talk show co-hosted by Smith, daughter Willow and Smith’s mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris.
Kryst attempted suicide once before in her early 20s, Simpkins said.
“That was the first time I noticed that smiles were a little forced,” Simpkins said. “After that first attempt, she and I grew very close and I wanted her to feel comfortable calling me.”
Kryst was getting counseling, good sleep and seen smiling on her social media accounts, Simpkins said. The smiling and willingness to listen to others’ issues exemplified Kryst’s ability to deflect from opening up about her own depression, she said.
“Depression is not always marked by someone laying in bed or unable to do things,” Simpkins said. “There are people who are high-functioning and can get through the day because they wear ‘the face,’ and we’re all taught to wear that face. Cheslie wore that face.”
Simpkins said she planned on calling Kryst on the morning of her death. She was leaving an exercise class when she got an alarming text message from her daughter.
“I’m sorry, but by the time you get this I won’t be alive anymore. And it makes me sad to write this because I know it will hurt you the most,” Simpkins recalled Kryst’s text message saying.
Simpkins said she couldn’t read the entire text message when first received it. She called her husband, David, and began screaming.
She didn’t finish reading Kryst’s message until she got home.
“I cannot bear the crushing weight of persistent sadness, hopelessness and loneliness any longer. I’ve never told you these feelings because I’ve 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 and I cry almost every day now like I’m in mourning. I’ve wished for death for years,” Simpkins recalled Kryst’s text message saying.
After Simpkins got the message, she and her husband boarded a plane traveling from South Carolina to New York. Before the plane took off, New York police called and confirmed Kryst died, Simpkins said.
“I don’t remember the plane ride. I remember my husband sobbing,” she said. “We got to New York, we got into the hotel room and we were both just on the floor.”
Simpkins said she hadn’t hugged or seen Kryst in-person since the family’s trip to Universal Studios earlier that month.
“She truly was my best friend,” Simpkins said.
Although it took time to process, Simpkins said she became thankful because she got to watch Kryst for “30 incredible years.”
A vigil and balloon release was held in honor of Kryst’s 31st birthday at the Fort Mill High School football stadium on Thursday, April 28. She won the Miss Fort Mill High School pageant before earning her bachelor’s degree at the University of South Carolina.
David Simpkins is also a University of South Carolina alumnus, and the attorney inspired his stepdaughter, Kryst, to do pro bono work.
“I am so grateful that I got to be a part of her life, and that she got to be a part of mine,” David Simpkins said.
Kryst worked as a civil litigation attorney for Poyner Spruill in Charlotte and a correspondent for Extra TV before her death. She also served as an “Impact Ambassador” for Dress for Success.
Crisis prevention resources
▪ National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
▪ National Alliance on Mental Illness: Text 741741
▪ Mecklenburg County: NAMI Charlotte, 704-566-3410, select option 1
▪ Wake County: HopeLine 919-231-4525 or 877-235-4525
▪ South Carolina: Department of Mental Health, Mobile Crisis Team, 833-364-2274
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst’s mother reveals daughter’s final message before her death."
