Comedian and radio host Rickey Smiley is opening up about discovering that he had twin daughters just a year after losing his son, Brandon.
In an interview with Tamron Hall, Smiley revealed that he received the shocking news in January 2024, on the first anniversary of Brandon’s passing.
He vividly recalled where he was at that moment, down to the tile on the floor beneath him.
“I remember the tile on the floor I was standing in. Whenever I go to my apartment, I always look at that tile. That was the first time the sun came back to its original color,” Smiley said.
The timing of the news hit him hard, forcing him to process his grief in a way he hadn’t before.
“And that’s when I actually felt Brandon’s death,” he admitted. “Because the only difference between when he passed and the one-year anniversary—I did not have a casket and flowers and condolences.”
He added, “I was in therapy three times a week. That was the lowest I ever felt in my entire life.,” he shared. “The world was coming down on me. I was being dragged on the internet.”
When the twins called him “Daddy” for the first time, he felt something shift inside him. “It made my heart warm. It was like the blood started running through my veins again. Grief takes the gas out of the tank, and this put gas back in.”
Now, Smiley is fully embracing his role as a father, making sure his daughters, who just turned six, feel loved and cared for.
“I make sure I have a hot skillet of cornbread coming out of the oven when they walk in the door,” he shared. “We live in Alabama, so it’s cube steak and gravy. I did a chicken pot pie yesterday. I want my kids to come home from school, smelling hot food.”
