TikTok influencer Jacinda Jenkins has died, according to her mom, Emily Kocik. She was 28.
“This is absolutely the worst thing I’ve ever had to do,” Kocik said via TikTok on Wednesday, October 1. “I just want everybody to remember her for the person that she was — her big heart, her kindness, willing to help anybody out even when she was struggling.”
Kocik declined to give more details about the circumstances surrounding Jenkins’s death.
“There’s no blame to be made. There’s no questions that need to be answered right now,” she said. “The only thing that we need to do is just remember her.”
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An obituary shared by Cooper Funeral Home noted that Jenkins’ death was “sudden.” In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to any Humane Society or Mental Health Awareness charity.
“She was unequivocally herself all the time, and that’s one of the things that made her absolutely wonderful,” Kocik said. “If we can just remember her for who she was, not things that happened in the past, just recently, just all the good things about her.”
Jenkins had more than 200,000 followers on TikTok and was the owner of Harper’s Haven Boutique.
She operated the boutique shop from Kentucky, selling her custom T-shirts and apparel on online platforms like Etsy and Shopify. Jenkins named her business after her daughter, Harper. (She was also the mom of daughter Dax.)
In what would be her final TikTok post before her death, Jenkins updated fans on her life as a mother of two.
“Guys, we haven’t been on here in a little bit,” she said on August 15 before revealing her daughter had fractured her arm.
According to Kocik, those closest to Jenkins are struggling with her loss.
“We’ve struggled. This has been awful, just absolutely awful,” she said via TikTok. “No parent should have to go through this, ever, and I hope no parent ever does again. She was my only daughter. She was my only kid, and now I don’t have her at all.”
In a separate TikTok video, Kocik asked followers not to post upsetting things that people in her family can read.
She also revealed that a celebration of life is being planned, but the “actual services are just gonna be for close friends and family only.”
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“I’m thankful that we got to go down to see her a couple of weeks ago. … We’re doing everything that we can to get her back home,” Kocik said. “Please, please, stress hugging your loved ones extra tight. Your kids, your grandkids, anybody because there’s no pain like this one. There’s none.”
In Jenkins’ online obituary, friends and fans were able to leave heartfelt messages to a woman who “left an immeasurable void in the hearts of her family, friends, followers and the larger community she nurtured and inspired.”
“Her spirit endures — in every person she helped feel seen, every encouraging word she shared and every creation that bore her unique touch,” the obituary stated. “Her legacy is one of love, authenticity and unapologetic strength. She will be deeply missed and forever remembered.”
