Most of us depend on cars to get around. While there's always a risk whenever we get on the road, typically we feel somewhat secure. But accidents do happen. And unfortunately, Brandi Redmond from Real Housewives of Dallas is dealing with the aftermath of a severe accident that took the life of her mother-in-law, Jill Marie Redmond. Brandi and Jill were always close, making this an especially devastating loss.
Even scarier, her daughter Brinkley was in the car with Jill at the time. Fortunately, she survived the accident. But there may be some emotional scars from the event that'll take longer to heal.
Brandi addressed the accident on Instagram. "My husbands beautiful mom has gone on to be with our Savior and my sister in laws said it best…so I PLEASE ask that you keep my family in your prayers during this difficult time and I ask that you lift my sweet Brinkley up as she continues to heal and that God protects her heart and eyes from this tragedy," she wrote. "I am so thankful for her life. This is probably the most thankful yet pain I've ever felt."
From there, she shared the words of her sisters-in-law to pay tribute.
"This is our mom, Jill Marie Redmond," the post, penned by sisters Lauren, Megan, and Kristen, began. "We spoke to her daily. To speak of her in past tense hurts beyond words. Hours ago we lost her in a tragic car accident. Thank you, Jesus, for saving our niece who was in the car with her. To know our mom was to love her."
"She was a shining light to all who were lucky enough to know her," the post continued. "She loved so fiercely. She felt so deeply. And she loved Jesus with all her heart. Her world was FAMILY. She loved her 4 children and many grandbabies to the depths of her soul, and she left us doing what she loved most — caring for her grandbabies."
"We are in shock and are experiencing an indescribable pain," the post continued. Then, the sisters stated that the production of their podcast would be put on pause while they dealt with both the arrangements and their grief. "Thank you for your love and support and it would mean so much to us for you to go listen to and share our episodes in the meantime," the Redmond family said. "We even had the pleasure of having our mom on an episode."
"In our mom's honor, if you have a living parent please tell them how much you love and appreciate them, and hug your loved ones extra tight tonight and always," the sisters concluded. "We love you. Shine bright and spread love and kindness."
Brandi Redmond's daughter Brinkley had just turned 9 this month. Brinkley is one of three kids that Brandi has with husband Bryan Redmond. They also share a daughter named Brooklyn, who's 11, and son Bruin, who's 2. Brinkley's condition wasn't immediately shared with the public.
Brandi was known for showing her battle with infertility on season two of the series. Bruin, her youngest, was actually adopted into the family. "It's changed our lives forever," Brandi told People back in 2018. "We are obsessed with him, my whole family is. We're just so blessed."
Bruin happens to have the same hair color as Brandi's other kids, which didn't go unnoticed at the time. "It's crazy," she said. "He'll always look like he came from me, which he did — he came from my heart … From the moment that I met him for the first time, he just looked straight into my eyes, held my finger as tight as he could, and let out this giant grin. And it's been like that ever since. He smiles all the time and just giggles and laughs."
As for Brinkley, this isn't the first time she's been in the hospital. Back in 2019, she was hospitalized for an illness that gave her mom quite a scare. "She is finally resting," Brandi had said in an Instagram update. Featured was a picture of Brinkley quietly taking a nap in the hospital bed.
"It's been a hard week in the Redmond household but thank heaven for amazing medical teams that truly make a difference," Brandi had continued. "The best was Brinkley asking them if they were tired being concerned for them. I love her sweet tender heart. #redmondpartyof5."
Within days, Brinkley was feeling better and was able to enjoy golf with her family on Labor Day. So hopefully, she'll recover just as quickly. That said, she'll likely need to take some time to fully process and grieve what happened, just like the rest of the family.
Brandi has a very special bond with Brinkley — for one, she feels like the two have a lot in common. "Brooklyn loves her new school. She absolutely loves it. She's thriving. The little girl is a little genius," she told Bravo TV's Daily Dish in 2017. "She's like her dad [Bryan Redmond]. Brinkley's more so like me: a character."
She's so fond of her family that there are rumors that she's looking to add one more. In January of this year, they were looking to adopt again. But unfortunately, the birth mom suffered from a devastating miscarriage. "I took it pretty hard, just because I think, emotionally and physically, my family was prepared to take it on, but she lost the baby," she told Andy Cohen, per People.
The baby would have been a biological sibling of Bruin. Brandi's fellow castmate and friend Stephanie Hollman was involved with setting up the first adoption. "Bruin's biological mother, I was notified that she's pregnant again," Brandi had told Stephanie on the series. "She's already apparently giving the baby up to the state. It's all very preliminary. They said there are a lot of scenarios, but they wanted to let us know that we would be the first people."
While many of us have had tough years, it seems as if Brandi's has been filled with loss and grief. Losing a loved one so tragically and unexpectedly is hard for anyone to deal with. While it's good that Brinkley survived, this event will always have a big impact in her life. Having the other housewives by Brandi's side will only help the star grieve this untimely loss.
