Friends, colleagues mourn loss of former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst

By Jack Morphet, Tamar Lapin, Steven Vago and Patrick Reilly

January 30, 2022 10:37pm Updated

Cheslie Kyrst jumped from her luxury 60-story Orion building at 350 W. 42nd St. around 7:15 a.m. and was found dead in the street below, sources said. Getty Images for BET

Woman who jumped from NYC high-rise identified as Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst

Those mourning the loss of former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst include her New York competitor who revealed in a heartbreaking post Monday that her late friend was “someone who I thought about in my darkest times.

“I am having a difficult time processing this because I literally thought of you and your picture perfect family every time I struggled as motivation for me and my future family,” former Miss New York USA Florinda Kajtazi Kajtazi wrote in a post on her Instagram story addressed to “Cheslie.”

“You’re [sic] kindness, vibrance, motivation, and intelligence where [sic] so inspiring to me in ways you never knew,” said Kajtazi, who lost against Kryst in the 2019 Miss USA pageant.

“You never know what impact you’re making on someone’s life and you never know what impact that person could make on your own,” Kajtazi said.

Kajtazi was among a number of grief-stricken pals trying to grapple with the loss of Kryst, 30, who tragically jumped to her death from a luxury high-rise apartment building in Midtown on Sunday morning.

Lizbeth Rios, a Miss Illinois USA competitor in 2021, turned up at Kryst’s apartment building Monday to pay her respects and attempt to “find closure.

“She was an icon,” said Rios, who didn’t know Kryst personally but said she admired her for bucking norms in the pageant world, including as the oldest contestant to win the Miss USA crown.

Kryst left behind a note saying she wanted to leave everything to her mother, sources said. Getty Images

“She really changed perspectives in pageantry about what beauty is, with her big hair and big personality,” Rios said. “Maybe with Cheslie’s age, she felt that pressure, even though she broke barriers and showed everyone age doesn’t matter. She proved you can still be a queen no matter your age or height.”

Former Miss South Carolina winner MaKenzie Divina, who competed against Kryst in the 2019 Miss USA pageant, remembered her friend as an “amazing,” impactful woman in a painful Instagram post Sunday afternoon.

“Cheslie I hope you knew how loved you were. I can never begin to understand how you were feeling but what I can rest with is knowing the amazing person you were and how your legacy will continue on forever,” she wrote.

“The impact you had on so many people including myself was incredible. You left people better than you found them. The world will never be the same without you. I’ll love you forever… Until we meet again Cheslie.”

The social media post included a photo of the two women standing together, wearing their pageant sashes. Kryst represented her neighboring home state of North Carolina.

Kryst was a lawyer but also worked as an Extra TV correspondent. Instagram/chesliekryst

Kryst jumped from her 60-story Orion building at 350 W. 42nd St. around 7:15 a.m. Sunday and was found dead in the street below, according to sources.

She lived on the ninth floor of the building and was alone when she leaped from a terrace area on the 29th floor that was open to the whole building. She was last seen on the terrace, sources said.

According to sources, Kryst left behind a note saying she wanted to leave everything to her mother — a former beauty pageant competitor herself who was crowned Mrs. North Carolina in 2002. No motive was included in the note, sources said.

The former beauty queen doubled as a lawyer, graduating from Wake Forest School of Law in 2017, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Kryst also worked as a reporter and host for the celebrity television show “Extra.”

“Extra” host Billy Bush took to Instagram on Sunday to offer his condolences to Kryst’s family. He posted a photo of Kryst holding a microphone to Tom Hanks at a red carpet event with a huge smile on her face.

Kryst was remembered fondly by her friends and family as a caring and kind woman. Stephen Yang

“She was positive, hardworking, fun and of course beautiful,” Bush wrote. “Always dancing in between takes. This is a complete shock to all. We are left with great sadness because the best was definitely yet to come for this special person.”

Another “Extra” colleague, Renee Bargh, called Kryst “The sweetest, kindest, smartest woman I’ve ever met” in a post on her Instagram story with a photo of the two posing for a photo. “Devastated & shocked. We lost a beautiful bright light.”

The former beauty queen’s family confirmed Kryst’s death in a statement Sunday.

“Her great light was one that inspired others around the world with her beauty and strength. She cared, she loved, she laughed and she shined,” her family said.

“Cheslie embodied love and served others, whether through her work as an attorney fighting for social justice, as Miss USA and as a host on EXTRA,” her family said. “But most importantly as a daughter, sister, friend, mentor and colleague — we know her impact will live on.”

Hell’s Kitchen resident Michael Austin, 58, stopped by the Orion building to leave prayer candles on Sunday afternoon. He struggled to wrap his head around the string of suicides in the area recently.

“This is four times within the last year. This is not normal,” Austin told The Post.

A resident of the building who identified himself as Richard also remarked on the number of local suicides.

“It happens. It sucks,” he said.

In July 2021, a 60-year-old woman jumped to her death with her dog from the roof of a 46-story highrise building on 10th Avenue near 41st Street, leaving behind a note in which she talked about stress.

Just days later, a 14-year-old boy was killed after he jumped from the Hudson Yards Vessel at 10th Avenue and 33rd Street in front of his family, the fourth to leap to their deaths from the structure in two years.

In January 2021, a Brooklyn woman jumped from the roof of a 12-story Hell’s Kitchen building on 53rd Street while clutching her 5-year-old daughter — killing them both.

In December 2020, a 39-year-old man jumped to his death from the sixth floor of an apartment building also in Hell’s Kitchen on 52nd Street.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.

https://nypost.com/2022/01/30/miss-usa-cheslie-krysts-friends-mourn-loss/