Crawford Confesses She Struggled After Brother’s Death

Former supermodel Cindy Crawford recently opened up about growing up in a family with a sick sibling.

Her brother battled leukemia, which obviously took a toll on the family, including Crawford.

She stated that after his death, she suffered through survivor’s guilt.

Bad Times

According to Crawford, her brother was just a toddler when he was diagnosed.

She explained, "I was 8, my older sister would have been 10. My younger sister would have been 4 and Jeff was like 2, turning 3 when he got diagnosed, and then he was sick for two years.”

Crawford then explained how the family divided up tasks to care for her brother.

She stated, "I mean we kind of had to get pawned off on aunts and uncles and grandmas, and fortunately, we had an extended family in our town."

Then her brother passed, a very tough time for the family.

Crawford explained, "When he died, obviously that was devastating for the whole family. I think for my mother, she was able and chose to really grieve properly. She went to death and dying courses. She has a very strong faith.

“So she was able to move through grief. I think for my father, he had to go to work three days later… They just handled it very differently."

On the guilt she felt after her brother passed, Crawford added, "And we felt like, ‘Well, it should have been one of us.’ And it was so weird, like for years my sisters and I, we'd all have these like same nightmares about like… 'It should have been one of us.'"

She also felt kind of neglected by her parents during this time, explaining, "My mom wouldn't have known to say this.

"She was 26 years old and had just lost a child… I needed to hear, 'Yes, we're so sad that Jeff died, but we're so happy you're here.' And, of course, my mom didn't know how to say that.

“But then, through doing the work myself, I was able to ask my mom to say that now, as an adult… just to kind of close the loop on that feeling."