Inside Charlie Kirk's family life with wife Erika Frantzve and two kids before death aged 31

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," Donald wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. "No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika and family. Charlie, we love you!"

Charlie left behind his wife and two children, for whom sympathies have been pouring in from both sides of the political spectrum, with messages from former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and current VP J.D. Vance. The father of two believed in the importance of marriage, and shared during a 2023 speech that people "should get married as young as possible and have as many kids as possible. Period. Reject the siren song of modernity."

Charlie married Erika Frantzve in May 2021, three years after they met at a Turning Point USA event. Speaking in a video for the organization, he shared that the couple enjoyed a "very, very long dinner" where he came to the realization that she was "the one". They married in an intimate ceremony in Arizona, and chose not to have a bridal party.

Erika wears many hats; she was crowned Miss Arizona USA in 2012, and went on to study a degree in Political Science and International Relations from Arizona State University. The multi-hyphenate also holds a Juris Master's degree from the conservative Christian college Liberty University, which she earned in 2017. Erika completed a Doctorate in Christian Leadership in 2022. In addition, Erika played basketball for Regis University in Denver, Colorado.

Now, Erika is a licensed real estate agent with The Corcoran Group in New York City, and founded the non-profit organization Everyday Heroes Like You in 2006. The mom of two hosts a podcast called Midweek Rise Up, owns a clothing line, PROCLAIM, and calls herself a "multidimensional philanthropist and social entrepreneur".

Erika was supportive of her husband's conservative endeavors and previously wrote on social media that he was working hard for change. "My husband, Charlie Kirk, is a force. He is bold when the world demands silence, he is fearless where others flinch, and he has taken on the battle of the next generation, changing these hearts and minds," she shared.

The duo shared two kids: a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son. They worked to keep their children's names and faces off social media to protect their privacy. "We have a girl and a boy, and it's no one's business what their names are or their faces," he said in a video from June.

Messages of support have been pouring in for Erika and her kids, with Marvel actor Chris Pratt taking to X to write: "Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country. We need God's grace. God help us."

Actress Mandy Moore wrote a message on Instagram, sharing: "There is no room for political violence in this discourse. Ever. You can disagree with someone's beliefs but this is a terrifying consequence of the world we're living in and it's a cancer. I can't stop thinking about Charlie Kirk's wife and their small kids. My heart is with them and all who loved him."