Malcolm-Jamal Warner‘s wife is publicly revealing her identity two months after his tragic drowning death.
If you did not see the tragic news, The Cosby Show actor died in a drowning accident on Sunday (July 20) while on vacation with his family. He was swimming at a beach in the Cocles de Limón area in Costa Rica.
Keep reading to find out more…Up until now, the identities of Malcolm-Jamal‘s wife and their daughter have remained private.
In honor of their wedding anniversary, Malcolm-Jamal‘s wife Tenisha Warner took to his Instagram account on Friday (September 12) to reveal her identity and to open up about mourning his death.
“Thank you for holding us in so much love during this tender time. Tomorrow marks our anniversary — and my heart is wide open. For the first time, I’m sharing a glimpse of the love that began it all,” Tenisha wrote while sharing a photo of them holding hands and laughing at their 2017 wedding.
“I can still hear my husband’s laugh, still feel the way he made room for every part of me — every tear, every dream,” she continued. “Today, in his honor, my daughter and I are launching River & Ember and officially opening The Warner Family Foundation.”
Tenisha went on, “Together we carry the legacy my husband and I began— one that nurtures children’s inner light and gives young artists the freedom to create outside the lines. This is love, Still moving. Still making. Still carrying us forward.”
In her post, Tenisha included an image of a longer statement about River & Ember.
“River & Ember was born not only from my knowledge as a doctor of psychology, but from my own journey with grief and love. It’s about creating rituals that outlast us — the kind that our children will carry as a legacy,” Tenisha wrote. “River & Ember began with two simple forces: the steady flow that carries us forward, and the quiet warmth that keeps us alive inside. My husband embodied both. His presence was a river — steady, sure, and always moving toward what matters.”
Malcolm-Jamal’s “spirit was an ember — glowing with encouragement, igniting possibility in those around him. His way of seeing the world — that children’s inner light is worth tending with care and constancy — is the heartbeat of everything we create here,” she continued. “This work is not just my offerings to families; it is a continuation of the love and presence that shaped our own.”
Tenisha wrote, “My husband believed deeply in tending not only to the inner light in children, but in ourselves. This company carries forward that belief – offering stories and rituals that honor the quiet power of connection between parent and child. This work is a continuation of that presence he embodied. Through story and ritual, I hope to offer families the same gifts he gave us: a sense of being held, and a reminder that even in life’s changing seasons, our inner light is worth tending.”
“To the river that carried us. To the ember that never goes out,” Tenisha concluded. “Your love was the first story I ever wanted to keep telling. From a place of love and legacy.”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner‘s mother also recently spoke out after his passing.
