Carson Daly Opens Up About Grieving His Mom 7 Years After Her Death: "She Is There"
The host of The Voice is still coping with the loss, but is finding his own way to heal.
It's been seven years since Carson Daly's mother died. On September 17, the longtime host of The Voice took to social media and revealed his difficulty with coming to terms with the loss.
Daly's words are powerful, heartfelt, loving, and should be read by anyone who has lost a friend or family member. Here is his Instagram message in its entirety:
My mom died 7 yrs ago today.
I've been working on the road a lot lately & woke up in a hotel room immediately with a heavy heart. My 1st thought was to swing by church & say a few prayers or just dedicate some time today to reflect on her greatness & my gratitude that she was my mom. But then I realized that I didn't need to. Truth is I think about her every single day. Like hundreds of times a day. I talk to her. Out loud sometimes. I ask her questions or offer thanks when something goes right directly related to how she raised me. I wink at photos of her in my house as I walk by & say thanks mom. I cheers her when drinking a bloody mary or a glass of red. In fact, she's sorta everywhere. This was all reassured to me in a poem I was given while deep in the grip of crippling grief shortly after her sudden death. (I will post that here too because it really saved me. It still does.)
I've found great peace & comfort in pretty much just pretending like she's still alive. We just don't see each other or text anymore. But how often was that really? Why would all the other thoughts & feelings just stop? They don't have to. It's a choice I have. And I choose to honor her still just as much as I ever have. As if she's still alive. When my kids are in school plays I accept the feeling of pride I know she has. Not would have had. She is there. For all of it. I talk to my kids about her often, so they'll never forget the love she had for them. I speak about her as if she's across the country.
It's a really powerful thing to ignore death's stereotypes & focus on the power of life. I draw a lot of this from my Christian faith. We're called to still believe in the absence of flesh. It's actually not that hard when you believe so wholeheartedly. Anyway, I didn't mean to get too deep. I just wanted to share my thoughts on my mom. I love you today, I'll love you tomorrow & if I know anything in this life it's that I'll see you in the next. ❤️🍷
Words like "I love you today, I'll love you tomorrow" hit especially hard. Daly's career has been unequivocally successful over the decades, and we're sure his mother played a significant role in supporting him throughout everything.
Daly's mother, Pattie, died suddenly in 2017 from a heart attack in Palm Springs, California.
During a 2019 episode of TODAY, Daly revealed the pain he went through when getting the news of her passing.
"My mom and I had a special relationship. We were very, very close," Daly explained. "She lived everyday like it was her last. She had a saying, 'Go big or don't go at all.'"
Daly was visibly emotional as he described how close he was to his mother.
"I don't know how to articulate my relationship with my mom," he revealed. "The love was so strong that the hurt was so strong."
Carson Daly returns to The Voice for Season 26
As anybody who's suffered a loss knows all too well, life never stops moving. The 51-year-old returns as the host of The Voice in Season 26, premiering Monday, September 23, at 8/7c on NBC.
Season 26 will feature the defending champion Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, and Michael Bublé competing for the title.
