Kailia Posey 's mother said that her daughter sent her a blanket prior to Posey's death.- The former "
Toddlers and Tiaras " star died at age 16, her family told TMZ.
The mother of former "Toddlers and Tiaras" star Kailia Posey said that her daughter sent her a gift in the mail that arrived shortly after Posey's death in early May, E! News reported.
Marcy Posey Gatterman told E! News that her daughter, who was 16 at the time of her death, saw a blanket on TikTok that she ordered and sent to her mother. According to Gatterman, the blanket arrived after her daughter's death.
Gatterman said that the blanket had a note that read, "Dear Mom, even when I'm not close by, I want you to know I love and appreciate you. Always. Wrap yourself up in this and consider it a big hug. I love you."
Posey, a student in Washington, was known online for appearing in a 2012 episode of the TLC series "Toddlers and Tiaras" when she was 5 years old. The episode showed Posey competing at the California Tropic Arizona pageant and eventually made her one of the series' most recognizable faces after an image of her grinning widely became a popular reaction image and GIF.
In a Facebook post on May 2, Gatterman announced that her daughter had died. The next day, Posey's family said that she had died by suicide in a statement to TMZ.
Posey continued competing in pageants as she grew older. She was the second runner-up in the Miss Teen Washington USA pageant, representing the city of Lynden, and, according to her bio on the pageant website, had been named to the Dean's List for the 2021-2022 school year. According to her family's statement to TMZ, Posey had also been selected to be a cheerleader at her high school for the upcoming fall.
Gatterman told E! News that she appreciated the outpouring of support following her daughter's death, and said that Posey's friends had started a teen crisis intervention fund called Kailia's World.
"This is the worst thing a mother can go through," Gatterman told E! News. "Parents who have teenagers that have phones, check their phones. And if you're struggling, talk to your parents. They're not judging you. They're going to get you the help that you need, but we need to know what you need in order [to] get the help you need. Don't keep it inside."