Emilie Kiser spoke publicly for the first time since her three-year-old son Trigg drowned last year, saying the loss has left her feeling “unfit” as a mother even as she fights to stay present for her younger son, Teddy.
Kiser appeared this week on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, and an exclusive clip shared by PEOPLE showed her describing the months after Trigg’s death as a period of “many different emotions” around parenting. She said losing a child reveals “in the scariest, most real way possible” how quickly life can change and be taken away.
Her remarks carry added weight because they come after a case that drew intense public attention online. Trigg drowned in the family’s garden pool in May 2025, and police said the toddler was in the water for seven minutes before he was found. CCTV footage reportedly showed him outside alone and unsupervised for more than nine minutes in total. He was taken to hospital and died six days later.
Kiser returned to social media in August 2025 with a statement saying she took “full accountability” because she did not have a pool fence installed. The drowning happened while Trigg was being watched by his dad and Kiser was out for dinner with friends, and she has spoken about the accident multiple times on Instagram and TikTok since coming back online.
In the new interview, she said she has a choice: let the loss derail her further or do everything in her power to be the best mother she can for Teddy, giving him the same love Trigg had and has. She also said she made a promise to Trigg before he died that she would take care of Teddy, calling it her final promise to him.
The full episode has not yet been released, and it is expected to appear on the Jay Shetty Podcast YouTube channel. For now, the clip offers the clearest public window yet into how Kiser is trying to live with grief while still defining herself as a mother.
