Emilie Kiser, whose 3-year-old son Trigg drowned last May in Chandler, Arizona, spoke in depth for the first time about the death, the months that followed and her shift toward drowning prevention. Prosecutors declined to file charges in the case, and she said
When Emilie Kiser opened up on Jay Shetty’s podcast, the moment wasn’t about an investigation or a headline. It was about the day her life narrowed to a single question—how a preventable accident could happen to her family—and how that question keeps replaying long after the public attention fades.
Kiser. a social media influencer. told Shetty in a June 17 episode that it’s the first time she has given an in-depth interview since her 3-year-old son. Trigg. died last May. The interview arrives after months in which she went quiet online while records were sought and officials investigated the drowning.
Officials with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said they will not be filing charges in Trigg Kiser’s drowning death.
The fatal day was May 18, 2025. Trigg died after a drowning accident at their home in Chandler, Arizona. Police said he was hospitalized for six days after being pulled from the family’s backyard pool.
A police report described the circumstances that led up to the emergency. It said Kiser’s husband. Brady Kiser. was home alone with Trigg and the couple’s newborn son. Theodore. when the incident occurred. Brady told police he was distracted by Theodore when he lost sight of Trigg. Surveillance video. according to the report. showed Trigg accidentally falling into the pool after tripping and falling on an inflatable chair.
After the incident, Kiser said her public silence was partly tied to what she described as the effort to conceal records, while the investigation moved forward. She slowly returned to her platform beginning in September 2025.
On Shetty’s podcast, Kiser said losing a child changes everything. “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,” she told Shetty.
She also described the emotional reality of the period right after the drowning. She said she was five weeks postpartum after giving birth to her second son. Teddy. when she went out to dinner on May 12. 2025 with a group of friends. About 10 minutes after she arrived. her husband called her to say Trigg had fallen into the pool and wasn’t breathing. Kiser said she rushed to the hospital to be by his side, and Trigg died nearly a week later.
Kiser framed the death as something she believes should not have happened. “You can’t even describe that feeling of when your child passes away from a preventable accident. a preventable tragedy. ” she said. “All that’s going through your mind is, ‘Where did I go wrong?. Where did we go wrong?. How did this happen?. Why did this happen?’ Hindsight is playing in your head 24/7.”.
She said the early days were not where she fully grasped how widely the case was discussed. She recalled what she called a “frenzy” of public attention. “It was crazy. but I was just so uninvolved in that at the time that it wasn’t until after he had passed away that I think I really realized how big it was and how many people were talking about what had happened to him. ” she said.
As she described her grief journey, Kiser said she and Brady worked with medical professionals and even visited a care farm for animal therapy shortly after Trigg’s death. She said she has come to accept that grief does not follow a neat timeline.
“Everything is going to coexist with the grief,” she said. “You could feel joy and feel so much sadness at the exact same time. You can feel support while also feeling guilty. You can feel sad while also feeling reminiscent on the memories. So many feelings coexist and that is forever.”
Kiser said she tries to process her emotions on two scales—one for grief and one for how she manages it. “I cannot stress enough that when you’re going through child loss or you’re going through loss in general, you’re really just living minute by minute,” she said.
She also spoke about navigating the loss alongside her husband. saying she questioned whether she would ever be able to forgive him. “From the beginning, I questioned if I would ever forgive him,” she said. She added: “I think the biggest thing that really kind of altered literally my brain chemistry and the way I thought about it was: this could have just as easily happened to me.”.
That idea—what could happen in a moment—is also where Kiser said her advocacy is rooted. Trigg, she said, will remain part of everyday life at home, from photos hanging around their house to items that remind her family of him.
Kiser said she has dedicated herself to raising awareness about drowning prevention. “The biggest lesson is, even if you think it will never happen to you, it can happen to you. It can,” she said. “None of us are special. None of us can control little tiny choices and things that can make up the whole picture.”.
She urged parents to take preventative steps including installing pool fences and door alarms, signing children up for swim lessons, and making sure handles are out of reach.
Kiser said the way she honors Trigg is tied directly to caring for Teddy. “The only thing I can do to honor Trigg. to show my love for him. is take care of Teddy and hopefully help to spread awareness and do my best to make it so that hopefully less families have to go through what we’ve gone through. ” she said.
One of her last promises to Trigg before he died. Kiser said. was that she would always care for his brother Teddy. “That has kept me going,” she said. “I made a promise. I’m going to fulfill it and I’m going to give Teddy the best life I possibly can. and that means showing up for him. showing up for myself. doing everything I possibly can to make sure that happens.”.
The podcast episode is available to watch on YouTube or listen to on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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