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24 Feb 2026 14:53
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Chris Daughtry "beats himself up" over the deaths of his mother and his stepdaughter

    The 42-year-old singer lost his mother Sandra to breast cancer back in November 2021 just days before his 25-year-old stepdaughter Hannah took her own life and explained that while he dealt with each death differently, he still feels "guilt" over them both


    He said: "I dealt with both differently, processed both losses very differently - the common denominator in both is the guilt. The 'I wish I would have said this. I wish I would've done this. I wish I would've called more.'"

    The 'What About Now' hitmaker - who shot to fame when he reached the final of 'American Idol' back in 2006 with his rock band Daughtry and has been married to Hannah's mother Deanna since 2000 - was on tour when Hannah passed away and explained that "guilt" is the hardest thing to deal with when itcomes to grief because "you can't do anything about it."

    Speaking on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show', he added: "Those moments of guilt are the hardest because you can't do anything about it. There are always going to be reminders of what you could've done or whatever, and I tend to beat myself up a lot over it.

    Following the death of Hannah, the family claimed that Hannah died by suicide while under the influence of narcotics at her home in Fentress County, Tennessee, in a statement, which went on to discuss Hannah's struggles which saw her being "shot in

    the face" in 2018, shortly after her biological father committed suicide.

    At the time, Chris said he was "devastated and heartbroken" by the tragic news.

    He wrote on Instagram: "I am still processing the last 24 hours. I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken. "I just recently lost my mother to cancer but I was blessed with the chance to say goodbye and I was processing it privately. "We never got to say goodbye to our precious Hannah and it's another huge hit to our family."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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