All these years, there’s been a haunting, tragic story behind the glamour. And now Cindy Crawford is opening up about the emotional scars left by the death of her little brother so many years ago.
Back when the supermodel was only 8 years old, she sadly lost her little brother Jeffrey Crawford (pictured above) to childhood leukemia. In the past she’s spoken about the tragic loss, keeping the memory of her brother alive, but now she’s opening up about what his death meant for her and her sisters, especially.
Related: DC Young Fly Reveals His Sister Has Died Just 4 Months After Losing Jacky Oh!
On Sunday’s episode of the Kerry Corrigan Wonders podcast, the 58-year-old said she and her two sisters Chris and Danielle Crawford navigated the loss — and sadly experienced survivor’s guilt from it:
“My dad wanted a boy, so the fourth was the boy and I think that there was a lot of guilt.”
She explained how their dad, John Crawford, wanted a son so bad, all three girls felt it would have been better if one of them had died in Jeffrey’s place:
“There’s like that survivor guilt of the other kids and especially because we knew that my dad really wanted a boy. We felt like ‘Well it should’ve been one of us.’ It was so weird, for years, my sisters and I would all have these same nightmares, that it should’ve been one of us.”
So heartbreaking!
The pain has followed Cindy for years. Only in the past few years did her therapist help her navigate some of the complex emotions around the subject of her brother’s passing. She said:
“Just recently, I was doing some coaching through Covid. I actually had time to do real work, and I realized that one of the questions the coach asked me was something like, ‘What did you need to hear at that time that you didn’t hear?’ and I realized. And my mom wouldn’t have known to say this, she was 26 years old and had just lost a child, but I needed to hear, ‘Yes, we’re so sad that Jeff has died, but we’re so happy you are here.'”
Aww… There’s no way to go back and say those things. But maybe some parents out there hearing this story will take an extra moment to consider what their kids need to hear after a tragedy? We can only hope.
We can’t imagine what Cindy and her family went through, but we’re so glad they’re here with us today, despite it all. May Jeffrey rest in peace. You can find the full conversation HERE.
[Image via Vogue/OWN Network/YouTube]
Related Posts
