Still in shock. Stephen “tWitch” Boss was featured in the In Memoriam tribute at the 2023 Grammy Awards — and the moment was meaningful for his mother, Connie Boss Alexander.
“It will never seem real,” Alexander wrote via her Instagram Story following the Sunday, February 5, awards show alongside a broken heart emoji. “I miss you! I love you to infinity and beyond. Keep shining bright for us!”
Her heartfelt message was accompanied by a photo of her late son on screen at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Kacey Musgraves, Offset, Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and more gave moving performances as part of the tribute, which acts “as a moment to reflect on and salute the members of the music community we lost,” per the Recording Academy.
Connie and her son, Stephen ‘TWitch’ Boss. Courtesy Connie Boss/Instagram
The former So You Think You Can Dance contestant died by suicide at age 40 in December 2022. Days before his death, Boss and his wife, Allison Holker, celebrated nine years of marriage. She has since honored her late spouse several times via social media.
“My ONE and ONLY Oh how my heart aches. We miss you so much,” the Dancing With the Stars alum, 35, captioned a selfie with Boss in December 2022 as she returned to Instagram for the first time after his death.
At the time, Alexander thanked fans of the former Ellen DJ for their support in an emotional Instagram Story tribute of her own. “Family and friends, thank you for all the love, prayers and encouragement. Please know I see all the messages, texts, posts and the phone calls. I can’t use words right now,” she wrote. “Please know I will reach out when I can. Please continue to keep us in prayer. … Stephen Laurel, your mother loves you to eternity and beyond.”
Shortly after the new year — and her first holiday season without her son by her side — Alexander uploaded a series of throwback photos of Boss. Some of the snaps featured Holker and the couple’s children: Weslie, 14, Maddox, 6, and Zaia, 3. (Holker welcomed her eldest daughter with a previous partner, but Boss adopted Weslie following the pair’s 2013 wedding.)
“There are so many pictures flashing through my mind, so many memories,” Alexander wrote in January. “I smile, laugh and cry at each memory of a moment in time. The little chubby cheeks and legs as a baby… Your first little photo shoot, you had bells on your shoelaces in the white buster browns and you’d get so excited and tickled each time you moved your feet and heard the tinkle thus when you realized you literally were about to jump off the staging table, smiling that smile and laughing ..oh my heart ..my beautiful baby boy.. (a little tWitch, a manifestation of things to come). … As we ended each conversation, I say as always, I LOVE YOU!. Sleep in power darling. I move forward knowing without a doubt, we will be together again.”
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.