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On a sneak peek for the upcoming episode of Growing Up Hip Hop, Angela Simmons bares all in explaining the painful process of breaking the news to her son, Sutton Jospeh, 3, that his father had tragically died.
Simmons sits down with her life coach to process her emotions and how she’s held up her family since her ex-fiancé, Sutton Tennyson, was shot and killed in 2018.
After hearing the news Simmons said she knew that she would have to one day break down the idea of death to her son, who may or not be able to understand that his father is no longer walking the earth.
“He comes over and I start showing him videos and pictures and stuff and he stopped, and it’s not like he’s full conversational yet, so this is what kind of makes it emotional. He’s like, ‘Is he alive?’” Simmons said.
His question made her pause because it was newfound territory for her son to be able to process the meaning of life versus death.
“But he doesn’t even say the word ‘alive,’ so for him to ask that is like, ‘Woah,’ ” she said. “I was like, ‘No, he’s not.’ This is the first time I’m having to explain it to him. Which is super sad because he’s 3.”
“How do you explain to a 3-year-old that their never going to see them again?” she said. “Other than my own way, which is like ‘He’s in heaven, he’s with God,’ all of the great things.”
Her tears began flowing as she explained Sutton expressed his sadness and laid his head on her chest.
“I never see him emotional,” she continued. “He’s a happy kid and that whole day he was just kind of mopey and sad. And so I talked to him and I told him, “I got you, you’re ok, you’re good.”
“But it was super hard to have that conversation with him,” she continued.
In November, Simmons shared a heartfelt post commemorating the one-year-anniversary of Sutton’s death.
It’s great that Simmons is being transparent with her journey to finding the necessary healing she needs for her and her son.
