How Angela Simmons told her 3-year-old son about his father’s death
Angela Simmons lost the father of her child, Sutton Tennyson, in November 2018 to gun violence. The “Growing Up Hip Hop” star has now opened up to show cameras about the heartbreaking experience of sharing the news with their 3-year-old son, Sutton Jr.
During her conversation with life coach Chenoa Maxwell, Simmons, 32, revealed that Sutton Jr.’s recognition of his dad’s car is what prompted the difficult, yet necessary, talk.
“I’m like, ‘Do you want to see your dad?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah!’” the mother of one explained in a clip from the episode airing this Thursday.
“I’m showing him videos and pictures and stuff, and then he stops — and it’s not like he’s full conversational yet, so that’s what makes this emotional — and he was like, ‘Is he alive?’”
Through soft tears, Simmons continued, “He doesn’t even say the word ‘alive,’ so fo him to, like ask that is, like, woah. Like, did you really just say, ‘Is he alive?’ And I was just like, ’No, he’s not.’”
Simmons broke down after sharing her son said the news made him sad.
“He’s a happy kid, and that whole day, he was mopey and sad. It was super hard to have that conversation with him.”
Maxwell comforted a distraught Simmons, letting her know that telling a child something that heavy would be difficult for anyone, especially since Simmons is still grieving herself.
Sutton Tennyson was shot 13 times, according to his autopsy.
“Growing Up Hip Hop” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on WEtv.