[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
The death of child star Sophie Nyweide is still an unsolved mystery. We knew something was wrong from the chilling obituary — with its references to “struggles and traumas,” to “therapists, law enforcement officers and others who tried to help her,” and to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Then we learned she was found by the side of a river in Vermont… and eventually that she was pregnant. Foul play has not been ruled out — authorities don’t even know for sure her cause of death.
But now we’re learning more about her life.
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Sophie’s mother, actress Shelly Gibson, decided to speak out in an interview with DailyMail.com on Wednesday. She gave more details about the dark path her daughter took in her later years, after the brief but impressive movie career.
“I am aware she was using drugs. She had been for quite a while. We had put her in many treatment centers.”
Oof. It’s a story with a sad but all too familiar ending. But how did it get started? Shelly recalled:
“She was clearly coping with something. In sixth grade, I started noticing problems and got her into therapy.”
We don’t know how long they were estranged, but their relationship was strained for years by Sophie’s addiction struggles. But Shelly did write in the comments of a throwback post of the two of them on vacation, “I miss her” — and that was three years ago. She told DM:
“We were very, very close. She was very forthcoming with me. We spent a lot of time together. I tried in vain to help her. I went to all the proper channels to get her help. She felt that she could handle anything on her own…”
At one point Sophie just quit letting her mom try:
“She did treatment centers until she was 18. Then she left and she was essentially on her own, not because of my choice, but because legally I couldn’t help her any more… It was horrific as a mother to know that I couldn’t help my child.”
But what happened that drove the 24-year-old to drugs? Was it hinted at with the RAINN donation link? Shelly explained:
“I can’t speak of what really happened, or what I thought really happened. But RAINN is something I’ve supported for a very long time… While Sophie was in treatment, I was able to get to know several of her treatment friends, and it made me feel compelled to support an organization that would help anyone who had to deal with any sort of abuse.”
That’s beautiful, turning tragedy into something positive for others. It’s just so sad Sophie couldn’t be saved.
On the investigation, Shelly said though it isn’t for certain yet, she has been assuming her daughter’s death was an accident:
“We don’t have the toxicology reports back yet. But my expectation is that it will be a drug overdose.”
While pregnant? Oof. This story is such a tragedy. And with such promising beginnings… What a young talent!
But Shelly doesn’t want to focus on Sophie’s fleeting fame. She told the outlet:
“Her life was a lot more than just those few years of doing movies. She was an avid snowboarder. She grew up in the mountains and in the city. She was a lovely, magical child. Everyone who met her saw it. She lived, in her short life, a life that most adults would have loved to live.”
Shelly, who had some high-profile TV guest star roles, including multiple episodes of All My Children, remembered wistfully:
“I didn’t even want her to act when she was little. I wanted her to grow up and go to drama school and make that choice when she was an adult. But I was sort of talked into it. But I was glad I did because she really loved it. Every moment on a set for her was joy.”
Awww! Why did she stop acting? Shelly remembers “she wanted to quit in junior high school so she did.” Junior high school… around when something was wrong in sixth grade? Hmm.
We may never know what that early trauma was. People’s stories are so complicated. But one thing is simple: a mother’s love. Shelly added, emotionally:
“I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter. She was a beautiful girl. She should still be here.”
Heartbreaking.
If you or someone you know is experiencing substance abuse, help is available. Consider checking out the resources SAMHSA provides at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline or check out StartYourRecovery.org
[Image via Shelly Gibson/Facebook.]
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