
Rising TikTok Star Kristina Richie Reveals Birth Mother's Suicide Attempt After Going Viral: 'I Have Such Conflicted Feelings'

Kristina Richie revealed her birth mom attempted suicide.
TikTok user Kristina Richie’s story about her adoption — and the wild events that ensued after her birth mother showed up at her high school — quickly garnered her a following of over 26,000 users.
The rising social media star exclusively chats with OK! about gaining recognition, where things stand with her parents now and a devastating situation in which her birth mother attempted suicide.

Kristina Richie quickly garnered a large following on TikTok.
Richie told a compelling four-part story in which her birth mother tracked her down at her high school and showed up one day via TikTok. This led to a battle ensuing between her adoptive parents and her birth mother, as Richie was sneaking out and lying to her parents to spend time with her birth mother. She even went as far as to tell her adoptive parents she wanted to move in with her birth mother — which was a crazy since she’d only known her for a short period of time. The fight between her adoptive parents — who Richie described as a bit "manipulative" during the ordeal — and her birth mother ended up going to court, and, for a period of time, Richie lived with her attorney representing her in the case. She ended up getting emancipated from her adoptive parents as a result of the situation and moved in with her birth mother for a bit.

Kristina Richie is very close with her adoptive father today.
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“Adoption and foster care has touched so many lives,” she exclusively tells OK!. “The feelings of abandonment, rejection and not feeling good enough are so widespread. People want to know they are not alone. My goal is to create a judgment-free, supportive community of people who need to feel like they belong and know that they are not alone in their life struggles. Everyone goes through things, whether they want to admit it or not. I want to use my story to help others not only heal, but learn from my mistakes, and that seems to be what is happening with my TikTok.”
After the dust settled, she is on good terms with her birth mother and with her adoptive parents. She moved to Texas in 2015 to be near her birth mom, whom she sees “regularly.”

Kristina Richie is close with her birth mother today.
As for her adoptive parents, Richie now describes her dad as her “best friend.”
“After I was emancipated following the court battle between my adoptive parents and birth mom, our entire relationship changed,” she says, reflecting on the past. “They realized they couldn't control me anymore, and that opened up such a huge door for open communication, love and support. I visit them regularly, and they come see us as well. My adoptive mom and I have a good relationship, but my dad and I speak every single day."
Richie, who is an author, explains it was not the easiest thing to decide what to share and what not to “out of fear of hurting people’s feelings," but ultimately realized this was important to put out into the world.
One of the things she didn’t share on TikTok — but tells OK! — is a situation in which her birth mother attempted suicide.

Kristina Richie feared hurting other people by sharing her story.
“My birth mom struggled severely after giving me up for adoption,” she shares. “When I was around 6 months old, my birth father had to wrestle her for a gun because she was trying to take her own life. My adoptive parents actually told her they would pack my things, and she could come and get me if it would mean saving her life. This didn't happen, but a part of me wishes that it did. You always wonder, ‘What would my life have been like had I not been adopted?’ The hardest struggle for me is that I am so close to my adopted dad, and I can't imagine my life without him. So on one hand, I am grateful, but on the other, I am not. [I have] such conflicted feelings.”
Fortunately, there has been a lot of good to come from airing out her family drama online.
“There have been so many amazing, supportive comments,” she notes. “People are happy to learn that they are not alone. I want people to not be afraid to tell their story, as it helps the healing process, so I hope that me sharing these intimate details of my life helps others decide to share theirs.”
For more information, follow Richie on TikTok here.