Caitlyn Jenner is going through a tough time. She recently shared her deep sadness after her manager and dear friend, Sophia Hutchins, passed away suddenly. The news hit Jenner, 75, especially hard after a period of dealing with other losses.
Jenner spoke on Fox News at Night on Thursday, August 28. She was discussing a tragic church shooting in Minnesota. She used the moment to reflect on her own grief. “My good friend Sophia died in a terrible accident,” Jenner said. “I’ve been dealing with death for the past seven weeks. It’s very hard. So when this [church shooting] happened, it really made me feel a lot.”
She continued by thinking about other people’s pain. “I am here, dealing with my sorrow. I can’t imagine parents dropping their child off at school. Then, like that father just said, ‘I’ll never talk to him again.’ That is truly awful. I’ve been feeling this pain, and those people have a long road ahead. They will also be dealing with their grief.”
The Tragic Accident Details
Sophia Hutchins, 29, died in an ATV crash near Caitlyn Jenner’s Malibu home. Reports from TMZ on July 3 stated she was declared dead at the scene. Her vehicle plunged 107 meters down a ravine. This happened after it hit the bumper of another car. The two people in that car were not hurt.
More details came out three days later from law enforcement. Sergeant Eduardo Saucedo spoke to The Daily Mail on July 6. He is with the Malibu/Lost Hills division of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Saucedo explained that Hutchins appeared to be speeding.
“It looks like she was going too fast and hit the back of the other vehicle,” Saucedo shared. “That made her swerve off to the right and over the cliff.” He added, “She was going too fast and ended up clipping the rear of that Mazda. That caused her to swerve and go off the cliff.” He also noted it didn’t seem like she was following the car, but rather just caught up to it.
Jenner later visited the accident spot as the police continued their investigation. Officers plan to wait for a toxicology report from the coroner. This will help them find out if Hutchins was affected by any substances while driving.
On that same day, The Daily Mail spotted Jenner in public for the first time since the accident details were made public. She wore dark glasses and a blue visor, covering her face from photographers. She told reporters she was going through "difficult times" and didn’t want to talk about the accident.
A Close Bond
Sophia, also a trans woman, first appeared on Caitlyn’s E! docuseries ‘I Am Cait’ in 2015. She later took on the role of Jenner’s business manager. Their close working and personal relationship often sparked rumors about a romantic connection. They frequently attended events together. However, both Jenner and Hutchins always denied being romantically involved.
Jenner clarified their bond in a 2018 interview with Variety. When asked about their relationship, she simply said, “We’re not going there.” But she quickly added, “We are very close. We do a lot of things together. We are almost inseparable. We are best friends.”