By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
Published October 2025
The pageant world is mourning the loss of Tyra Spaulding, a former Miss Universe Jamaica contestant, who died at just 26 years old.
According to Caribbean National Weekly, Spaulding was found unresponsive in her apartment on September 23, and police are treating her death as a suspected suicide. An official cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
The Miss Universe Jamaica Organization confirmed her passing on Instagram, remembering her as “a radiant soul and an amazing human being whose light, grace, beauty, and kind spirit touched every life she encountered.”
In the weeks before her death, Spaulding spoke openly on YouTube about her battle with depression and suicidal thoughts. “I’m fighting for my life over here,” she said in one post. “My mind is trying to kill me, and if I do nothing, I am going to die.”
Her passing echoes the 2022 death of Cheslie Kryst, the former Miss USA 2019, who died by suicide after jumping from a high-rise apartment building in New York City. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled Kryst’s death a suicide caused by multiple blunt impact injuries.
Kryst, an attorney and television correspondent, was remembered for her intellect and compassion. Her mother later shared that she suffered privately from high-functioning depression, highlighting the silent nature of mental health struggles.
If You or Someone You Know Needs Help
Call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for free, confidential 24-hour support.
