In a recent exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Allison Holker Boss opened up about the tragic death of her late husband, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, and how she is coping four months after his passing.
The couple, who first met on Fox’s hit show, So You Think You Can Dance, in 2010, had three children together: Weslie, 14, Maddox, 7, and Zaia, 3. In December 2020, Boss died by suicide at the age of 40, leaving his family and fans in shock.
Boss’ death has been difficult for Holker Boss, who shared that she still grapples with a “complex” web of emotions related to her husband’s death. However, she has found a new purpose in life by helping others who are silently struggling with mental health issues. As a way to honor her late husband, Holker Boss launched the Move with Kindness Foundation, which seeks to raise awareness and support mental health initiatives.
“We always hear, ‘Reach out to the strongest people,’ and I believe in that. But I also want the message to be that if you’re feeling low or depressed, it’s okay to lean on someone else,” she said. “Trust that people are still going to see you as that light even in your darkest moments.”
In addition, Holker Boss has found purpose in continuing her late husband’s legacy. “Stephen brought so much joy to this world, and he deserves to be remembered as the beautiful man he was,” she said.
Holker Boss has also been inspired by her conversations with friend and musician, Andy Grammer. “If I’m honest, when this happened I was really confused with what my new purpose was going to be,” she said. “Then I actually spoke to my friend, Andy Grammer, and I expressed to him, ‘How am I going to still live out what I know is my purpose — love, and joy — and has always been my family’s purpose?'”
Grammer’s response was simple yet profound. “‘Allison, it’s still your purpose. It just looks a bit different now — and it’s a little more depth-filled.’ I’ll never forget that conversation because I feel like I knew it inside of me, but hearing it from a friend that I still have that purpose is helping me move forward as well.”
