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Nicole Brown Simpson‘s family has broken their silence on the recent passing of O.J. Simpson.
Simpson’s three sisters, Tanya, Dominique, and Denise, sat down with PEOPLE for an interview published on Wednesday, May 22. Dominique explained that her thoughts on O.J.’s recent passing remain “very complicated.”
Additionally, Nicole’s youngest sister, Tanya, explained that his passing was like “the end of a chapter.”
“This is a person who’s been in our life for a very long time, who wreaked havoc on our family,” Tanya told the outlet. “It’s like the end of a chapter.”
As for how the family feels about Simpson’s guilt regarding Nicole’s murder, they remain mum.
“Because of the children, I’m not going to answer,” Dominique told the outlet, referring to Nicole and O.J.’s children, Sydney and Justin.
Although the sisters can’t bring Nicole back, they said they are thankful for the joy she emitted before her passing.
“What no one knows she experienced before her death is freedom. There was this levity about her. She was glowing,” Dominique explained before Tanya added. “I’m so glad that she had a good time the last two years of her life. I can’t bring her back, so why not try to look at it like that?”
In addition to speaking about O.J., Dominique also opened up about how she, her sisters, and her mother cared for Nicole’s children after her death. According to PEOPLE, on June 12, 1994, Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman’s bodies were found brutally stabbed near her home. At the time, Sydney and Justin were asleep in the residence.
“I knew that was the role I was supposed to undertake,” Dominique explained, referring to her efforts to “shield” Nicole’s children. “There was Denise’s son, my son, Sydney, and Justin. We played together, ate together, went to the beach together — everything together. It was to help them heal and do things that were fun. [But] the things that were being said, they didn’t need to be exposed to any of that.”
According to the outlet, O.J. Simpson was eventually arrested and charged with the murder of Nicole and Goldman. However, he would later be acquitted in 1995, per AP News.
Dominique recounted that in the year after his acquittal, Simpson won a custody battle against them and regained guardianship of Sydney and Justin. Nicole’s sister explained that her family eventually lost touch with the children.
“We found out a lot of things went down in Florida — 911 calls with the kids saying, ‘Daddy, stop,’ their house getting raided, just chaos,” she told the outlet.
However, since then, Nicole’s family has reportedly reconnected with Sydney and Justin, who are both now in their mid-thirties. According to Dominique, the children are “young adults with families” who are “both doing great” but prefer to lead private lives.
As The Shade Room previously reported, O.J. Simpson passed away on April 10 at 76. The following day, his family shared a statement announcing his passing.
Additionally, the family revealed that he had succumbed to his battle with cancer.
In the wake of the news, Caitlyn Jenner was among the first celebrities to react to Simpson’s passing. Jenner was previously married to Kris Jenner, a close friend of Nicole’s, per PEOPLE.
In reaction to O.J.’s passing, Jenner took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to write “Good Riddance…”
Jenner’s public response to O.J.’s death sparked mixed reactions, per The Shade Room. However, she wasn’t the only celebrity to weigh in with their thoughts at the time.
