YouTube star Brittani Boren Leach, 29, is mourning the death of her three-month-old son, Crew Leach, after he was found unresponsive while taking a nap on Christmas Day. Brittani, known for her self-titled beauty and lifestyle YouTube channel, documented on Instagram their days in the hospital, news of Crew’s diagnosis, and the moment she and her husband, Jeff Leach, realized they had to say goodbye to their little boy forever. Learn more about Brittani, Crew, and her family:
1. Crew Leach died on December 30 after he stopped breathing on December 25. Brittani put her infant down for a nap on Christmas, and later found him unresponsive. The family rushed him to the hospital, she revealed that day on Instagram, sharing a photo of his tiny hand grasping hers. She asked her fans for their prayers. An update the next day read that Crew had been placed on a ventilator and was “stable;” she later shared a photo of herself and Jeff cradling their baby in the hospital while he was hooked to tubes.
She wrote, “Crew’s tiny earthly body is still with us, although I know he’s already dancing and playing in Heaven. We have some hard decisions to make over the next 12 hours, that no parent should ever have to make.” Ultimately, Brittani and Jeff decided that they would donate Crew’s organs, potentially saving three or four other babies who desperately needed transplants. Crew was honored at the hospital in Texas with a flag raising ceremony and salute.
2. She started her YouTube channel in July 2015. Brittani’s first video was called “Best Proposal Ever,” that showed, you guessed it, the moment Jeff popped the question to his bride-to-be. The video is too sweet. She didn’t post again until the following year, after she had given birth to her first son with Jeff, and documented a day in the life of a stay at home mom (SAHM). She already had a toddler son from a previous relationship, Carter, who was along for the ride!
3. She fell in love with her husband after they met on Match.com. Brittani and Jeff just celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary this year after tying the knot in October 2015. He’s a frequent star of her vlogs and Instagram photos, and seems to be just as doting a parent as she is. As they celebrated their anniversary in October, Brittani wrote a sweet tribute to the man of her dreams on Instagram, including their wedding pics: “Happy fourth anniversary to my best friend. Marrying you four years ago was the best decision I’ve ever made. In four years we have brought three boys into the world, lost jobs, changed jobs, laughed together and cried together. There’s no other person that I’d rather do this crazy life with. Plus your car chats are pretty entertaining, so I guess I’ll keep you around. 😜😘 ”
4. She’s the mom of five beautiful kids. Along with Crew, Brittani and Jeff have two sons together: Cooper and Cash Leach. Brittani has her son, Carter, from a previous relationship, and Jeff has a daughter, Sydney, from his own previous relationship. Together, they’ve become a big, blended family. Brittani and Sydney are especially close. Weeks before Crew was born, she took her stepdaughter shopping at Justice and to Starbucks to bond.
5. She got heartbreakingly honest about the pain she’s in following Crew’s death. Brittani posted a photo of herself on Instagram on December 30 that showed her curled up on the hospital floor with her head bowed, crying. It was captioned, “It’s all just too much. All of it. I know God has a plan for this, but I’m really really mad at him right now. I cry behind the bathroom door while Jeff holds me, because in the room over everyone else gets to laugh and go on with their lives, and it makes me so angry. Running tests on my sons body to see how his organs are functioning before they take them. Pumping breastmilk just to pour it down the drain. Hearing a baby cry. Seeing a baby his age. Shopping Nordstrom for the dress I’ll wear to my son’s funeral. It’s all too much. I’m sorry to vent, but this is my heart. And I need all the prayers to get through this. #crewscrew.”