Tamera Mowry-Housley Remembers Late Niece on Her 20th Birthday: 'You Were Such an Angel'
Tamera Mowry-Housley is remembering her late niece Alaina Housley on what would have been her 20th birthday.
The actress and former co-host of The Real paid tribute to her niece, who was killed in the 2018 mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, sharing a photo of her 7-year-old son Aden posing with Alaina.
"When I look at Aden, I see glimpses of you," she wrote on Instagram. "Not a day goes by that I don’t think of you. You were such an angel on this earth, and now you are one in heaven. I miss you. Happy heavenly 20th birthday Lai Lai."
A post shared by tameramowrytwo (@tameramowrytwo) on Jul 27, 2020 at 7:37am PDT
Mowry-Housley confirmed that her niece had been a victim of the Thousand Oaks mass shooting on November 8, 2018. “I was blessed to know you ever since you were 5. You stole my heart. I will miss our inside jokes, us serenading at the piano," she wrote on Instagram at the time.
RELATED: Tamera Mowry Mourns Death of Husband Adam’s Niece Alaina Housley, 18, After Calif. Shooting
“Thank you for being patient with me learning how to braid your hair, and I will never forget our duet singing the national anthem at Napa’s soccer game,” she added. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
On Nov. 7, 2018, 12 people, including a Sheriff’s deputy, lost their lives when a 28-year-old former Marine, Ian David Long, opened fire on the crowd who were enjoying a college country night at the Thousand Oaks venue. Long killed himself too.
A post shared by tameramowrytwo (@tameramowrytwo) on Nov 8, 2018 at 5:06pm PST
Six months after the tragedy, Mowry-Housley said she was still struggling to come to terms with her niece's death.
“Missing you every day. I often do a double-take at women that remind me of you! The pain of how you were taken from us comes back.”
“I randomly envision hearing your voice and holding Aden and Ariah’s hands like you did,” she added of her son and 5-year-old daughter. "I wish you were here to see my children grow, and for us to see the woman you were to become. I’ll have to accept we have a warrior of an angel watching over us now. Love you.”
In response to her moving tribute, the star’s husband Adam Housley wrote in the comments of his wife’s post, “This breaks my heart every day. Every second of every day.”
