Influencer Emilie Kiser responds after toddler son filmed without a lifejacket during boat trip
Emilie Kiser has hit back at criticism of recent footage of her son sitting in a boat without a life jacket, a year on from the tragic drowning death of her son Trigg.
The 27-year-old and her husband Brady Kiser were slammed for the footage. She admitted they are “painfully aware” how quickly things can happen and that he should have been wearing the life jacket for the entire trip.
Emilie Kiser has revealed she’s pregnant, a year after the tragic loss of her son Trigg (right). Instagram/@emiliekiser
The influencer released a statement on her Instagram stories in response to the backlash on Wednesday.
“Our child should have been in his life jacket for the entirety of the boat ride, not even for the few moments he was out of it,” the statement read.
“We are painfully aware that in a matter of seconds, your entire life can change, and we should have done better.
“We recognise and appreciate the genuine care that people have for our children. There has also been a deep level of anger and hurt directed towards our family, and we understand the basis of those feelings as well.
“It comes from the belief that Trigg should still be here, and we share that same belief more than can be expressed.
“He was only three years old, and should have lived a lifetime more. That reality lives with us every moment of every single day.
“We will continue to do better, advocate for better and, as hard as we try to avoid them, still make mistakes. We can only promise that we will never stop learning from them and continue loving our children with everything we have.”
The influencer responded to the backlash and shared a statement on her Instagram stories addressing the situation. Instagram/@emiliekiser
The statement came after days of criticism online, due to the entire situation involving the Kisers after the footage was posted.
In a clip, shared by fellow influencer Madi Curtis, Emilie’s 16-month-old son Teddy was seen sitting on her Brady’s lap without a lifejacket in one moment during the boat day.
The footage also included some clips where Madi’s daughter was also seen without swim-safety gear on, although her son wore an orange life vest at one point in the video.
The compilation of clips is from a trip to Mallorca in June, and has since been deleted.
TikTokers questioned why Emilie and Brady didn’t take further precautions with her son being so close to the water, after the tragedy they had been through.
Trigg was three years old when died in May 2025, after drowning in their backyard pool. Instagram/@emiliekiser
In May 2025, their son Trigg – who was three at the time – died in a drowning incident in their backyard pool. Since then Emilie has become a strong advocate for water safety, sharing the message online.
Last month she spoke for the first time about how she was able to forgive her husband, who was home at the time the tragic accident happened.
Emilie opened up publicly for the first time during an interview with Jay Shetty on the On Purpose podcast in June. YouTube/Jay Shetty Podcast
She opened up on an episode of Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast and admitted she “felt so angry at him” in the weeks after Trigg’s death, at one point even thinking about their marriage ending.
But she eventually realised that she could have been the one in Brady’s position and home with the kids during the tragic incident.
The couple also recently shared the news that Emilie is pregnant again, although they have kept many of the details around her pregnancy private.