Hunter McGrady opens up about grief on 3-year anniversary of brother's death: 'It never goes away'
"That night I got the call shattered the fabric of my existence," McGrady said of losing her 23-year-old brother.
Hunter McGrady shared a moving post to Instagram to commemorate the third anniversary of her brother's death.
On Wednesday, the model shared a carousel of photos of herself and her brother Tynan, who died in 2021 in a car accident at the age of 23.
"Three years ago, my life underwent a profound transformation. I lost my little brother," McGrady wrote in the caption. "I was awaiting the arrival of my son and was filled with so much excitement and wonder as I prepared to welcome him into the world.”
"That night I got the call shattered the fabric of my existence. Nothing prepares you for this," she continued. McGrady called grief "a complex and nonlinear journey."
“It is an unrelenting force and it completely reshapes our existence. Since that day, I have been forever changed,” she added.
McGrady noted that the loss has “altered my perspective of human connection, on the responsibility of nurturing my babies’ lives and has completely changed the cadence of my thoughts.”
As challenging as the grief has been, McGrady said that she has been able to find peace in “unexpected places.”
“One of the most noticeable is my son’s hands and feet, which are practically identical to Tynan’s,” she penned. “It makes my heart swell when I look at them because it’s that special reminder of how beautiful and special my brother was and how blessed I feel that my son carries some of his traits.”
McGrady extended her experience as a beacon for her followers who are navigating their own losses.
“I know it’s hard and I know that it can feel all consuming but just know that they are there. Grief is a sucker punch to the gut and there’s no other way to put it,” she wrote. “You learn to grow around the grief but it never goes away.”
Fans quickly flooded McGrady’s touching post with kind and supportive messages in the comments.
Canadian influencer Sarah Nicole Landry (better known as The Birds Papaya) shared her condolences, writing, “Love you and thinking of you today.”
“This is not only a beautiful tribute to your brother, but as someone who is grieving as well, it’s a succinct statement about how you always need to remain open to the signs they’ll send you,” an Instagram user wrote.
“I lost my fiancé in October 2023 to a tragic motorcycle accident that wasn’t his fault. Everything you said is true. Grief has changed me forever. I try and look for signs everyday. Thank you for sharing your grief. As a society we don’t do this much and it’s those that are vulnerable and open up about it that really help us all understand grief a little bit more,” a fan shared.
“True story! I'm always looking for the signs! It's a great help, and comforting, supportive feeling to know they are always around,” added another.
Tynan was a computer engineering major at San Francisco University and three weeks away from graduating when he was involved in a car accident.
McGrady announced her brother’s death with an Instagram post where she described him as "The most kind, gentle, loving, beautiful, intelligent, funny human being this earth has ever known... he is and will always be the love of my life."
She continued: “There is no telling why these things happen, why accidents happen, why life is taken too short. I’m so grateful for the beautiful 23 years god gave us with him. I know we will meet again.”
A month after her brother's death, McGrady gave birth to her first child, a son named Hudson Tynan, after her brother.
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