Malcolm-Jamal Warner kept his private life so quiet that the public has never figured out the names of his wife or daughter.
While he occasionally shared photos of them on Instagram, he generally obscured their identities, especially his daughter’s face.
However, in a 2021 Instagram post, Warner shared details about his first date with his mysterious wife. In the same post, he also gushed about his love for her and their daughter, as well as his general happiness with life—a message that now feels especially heartbreaking.
Warner died on July 20 while on vacation with his wife and daughter in Costa Rica. According to the Caribbean Guard, he was pulled under by a rip current while swimming on a local beach. Bystanders reportedly tried to save him, and paramedics attempted to revive him, but their efforts were unsuccessful, the Caribbean Guard wrote in a statement posted to Facebook.
The heartfelt post showed Warner frosting a cake.
"On our first date, neither of us was really checking for the other. We met through a mutual friend and were pretty clear that this was not going to become anything other than maybe a cool friendship," he wrote.
"I even stated on that first date that I wasn’t really checking for having kids. She was clear that she was. We were clear we were on different pages. And we were good. I had already decided the next chapters of my life would be about something bigger than family," continued Warner.
"5 1/2 months later I was the one who asked, 'So, how would you feel about starting a family?' No, we didn’t start immediately. We took more time to experience each other to make sure it was more than a cool concept," he added.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I envision that a few years later I’d be making my very first cake with the help of the beautiful manifestation of our love, who is truly our 'mini us.' Our 3 year old daughter wanted us to make Mommy a chocolate strawberry birthday cake," added Warner.
"So we made one together. From scratch. Almond flour, brown coconut sugar, organic cacao powder, coconut oil, you know, healthy-ish side of things. Made the strawberry buttercream frosting from scratch as well. Beginner’s luck? We’ll see, but that jawn was banging..." he continued.
"Whatever 'bigger than family' ideas I had in my head before these two beautiful spirits came into my life are now fueled to be even bigger. Life is even more fulfilling. As Luther once sang, 'the wine tastes sweeter.'"
"When people ask me how I’m doing, I often tell them that I am living the motherf****** dream. And on the days it doesn’t feel like it, I just remind myself that I’m still living SOMEBODY’s dream. And I press on. I am so FULL now. Of Love. Of joy. Of gratefulness," he wrote.