"He would choose to have his story told" - Allison Holker issues statement following backlash from late husband Stephen "tWitch" Boss's family

Influencer Allison Holker addressed backlash from late husband Stephen "tWitch" Boss’s family and friends. On Wednesday, January 8, 2025, Holker took to her Instagram stories to explain her side of the story, writing:

"I want to be clear that my only intention in writing the book is to share my own story as well as part of my life with Stephen to help other people."

She continued:

"I believe that if Stephen were able to choose, he would choose to have his story told if it meant saving even one life."

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Instagram/ @allisonholker)

Holker's statement comes after criticism from tWitch's family and friends, claiming she was "trying to tarnish" his legacy and "exploiting" and lying about her late husband to promote her upcoming memoir, This Far: My Story of Love, Loss, and Embracing the Light. They also called her out for her recent interview with People magazine, where she discussed finding out about tWitch's alleged drug abuse.

For the unversed, tWitch and Holker were dancers who rose to fame appearing in the second season of So You Think You Can Dance (2008). The pair married in 2013 and share three children: Wesley, 16, Maddox, 8, and Zaia, 5. tWitch passed away in December 2022. His body was found inside a motel room near his home, and cops ruled his death as suicide.

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"My hope is that that we won’t need to lose another... to suicide"- Allison Holker reasons her memoir would shed light on mental health

In her statement, Allison Holker explained that she, too, never really knew what happened, and even as she tries to piece everything together, she will remain in the dark.

She explained that her memoir, This Far, attempts to shed light on and "celebrate" her life with tWitch and their three children. She added that the book also deals with "more complex aspects" of their lives.

"I hope that by sharing our full story maybe I can help someone else who might see themselves or a loved one in Stephen. In sharing I hope that maybe they can catch some of the red flags that I missed before it’s too late," Allison Holker wrote.

Holker explained that since tWitch's death, she has spoken extensively with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Soloman Family Solutions, and The Defensive Line Foundation to better educate herself about mental health.

She added that she started a mental health-focused foundation in her late husband's honor. Holker added that proceeds from her book would fund the organization.

"My hope is that that we won’t need to lose another husband, brother, father, or friend to suicide," Allison Holker explained.

Allison Holker, in her January 7 interview with People magazine, claimed that on the day of his funeral she discovered a "cornucopia" of drugs inside a shoebox, including weed, mushrooms, and pills.

"I was with one of my really dear friends, and we were cleaning out the closet and picking out an outfit for him for the funeral. It was a really triggering moment for me because there were a lot of things I discovered in our closet that I did not know existed." Holker told the publication.

She also explained that she found several of her late husband's journal entries, which are included in her upcoming memoir, including s*xual abuse by a male family member when he was a child.

"He was wrestling with a lot inside himself, and he was trying to self-medicate and cope with all those feelings because he didn’t want to put it on anyone because he loved everyone so much. He didn’t want other people to take on his pain," Holker noted.

Following the interview, tWitch's family and friends took to social media to harshly criticize Allison Holker. His cousin, Elle, explained that he was not a "junkie," even sharing articles from May 2023 detailing Boss's autopsy, which revealed he wasn't under the influence of any drugs. Elle also claimed that Holker made Boss's family, including his mother, sign NDAs before being allowed to attend his funeral.

Fellow SYTYCN alum Courtney Ann Platt (a longtime friend of Boss and Holker) and actor Jay Chris Moore both took to Instagram to call out Holker. Several IG users, including Kelly Gibson (@innergizeyou), questioned why Holker was tearing apart her late husband's name, even stating that the "paycheck was not worth disgracing his name." Allison Holker replied:

"I’ll always love you. Just trying to help people feel safe to ask for help and support."

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In September 2024, Allison Holker announced her memoir, This Far. It is set to come out on February 4.