Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk (née Frantzve), broke her silence following the death of her husband at age 31.
“Charlie loved life. He loved his life, he loved America, he loved nature which always helped him closer to God,” Erika, 36, said in a live stream via Charlie’s X on Friday, September 12. “He loved the Chicago Cubs and my goodness did he love the Oregon Ducks.”
Erika added that Charlie also had a lot of love for his family and his role as a husband and father. (The couple share two children: one son and one daughter.)
“Most of all Charlie loved his children and he loved me with all of his heart and I knew that everyday. He made sure I knew that everyday,” she continued. “Everyday he would ask me, ‘How can I serve you better? How can I be a better husband? How can I be a better father?’ … He was a such a good man. He still is such a good man. He was the perfect father. He was the perfect husband.”
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She continued, “Here me when I say this: nobody is ever too young to know the gospel. Nobody. Nobody is ever too young to get involved with saving this beautiful country This country, my husband loved and still loves and nobody is ever to old either, there’s no age limit. I know my husband is still here. He’s watching over us. I don’t remember the last time I slept. I couldn’t sleep last night.”
She then addressed her late husband directly. “Charlie baby, Charlie I promise I will never let your legacy die baby I won’t,” she said. “Oh, Charlie I love you. I love you baby. Rest in the arms of our lord as he blankets you with the words I know your heart always strives to hear. Well done my good and faithful servant.”
She also noted the challenge of navigating Charlie’s death as a mother, recalling speaking to the pair’s daughter, Gigi, the night prior. “When I got home last night Gigi, our daughter, just ran into my arms and I talked to her and she said, ‘Mommy i miss you’ and I said I miss you too baby and she goes, ‘Where’s daddy?’ How do you tell a 3 year old? She’s 3. And I said, ‘Daddy loves you so much baby he’s on a work trip with Jesus so he can afford your blueberry budget.’”
Charlie was shot during a speaking event for his American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday, September 10. Initial reports indicated that he was in critical condition, but his activist organization, Turning Point USA, later confirmed that Charlie had died.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we, the Turning Point USA leadership team, write to notify you that early this afternoon, Charlie went to his eternal reward with Jesus Christ in Heaven,” the group said in a statement to employees and supporters on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump also confirmed the news via his app, Truth Social, writing, “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Trump, 79, also said he had ordered for all American flags to be lowered to half-mast in Charlie’s honor through Sunday, September 14, at 6 p.m.
Charlie cofounded Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses, in 2012 when he was 18. He went on to become one of the most influential conservative activists in the United States and developed close relationships with members of Trump’s circle.
In 2021, Charlie married Erika, a former Miss Arizona USA. The couple went on to welcome a daughter in August 2022 and a son in May 2024.
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Earlier this year, Erika shared a tribute for her husband on the 4th of July, saying that she was “especially grateful” for him on patriotic holidays like Independence Day.
“I love how much he loves this country. He believes that the freedoms we celebrate today are worth defending every day,” she wrote alongside a video of Charlie playing with their kids at the beach. “And while you may not agree with every word he says, I hope you can still be stirred by the fact that he can say them. That we can all speak. That this land, although imperfect in some ways and perfect in others, is stitched together by a Constitution that beautifully protects our voice, our worship, our homes, and our hope. That alone is something worth celebrating.”
She continued, “So today, I thank God for freedom. I thank God for the gift of this nation. And I thank God for a husband who, day in and day out, gives everything he has to defend it. Happy Birthday, America. May we never take you for granted. I love you @charliekirk1776.”
