It’s been 10 years since Granger Smith and his wife, Amber, said “I do,” and neither could have likely ever imagined the storms they would weather in the decade since then. The couple, who lost their 3-year-old son River in a drowning accident last year, is opening up about the challenges they have faced in the months since, especially as they continue parenting their children London and Lincoln.
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“What I see: 2 people in a storm,” Smith said as part of a lengthy post on social media on their anniversary, acknowledging that what the public sees is often not what is going on in someone’s private life. “Hanging on to God for truth and guidance like a lone fence post in a ravaging wind. I see a girl hurting. Drawing on unimaginable strength just to continue on with necessary motherly duties. Clinging to the Bible like it’s a life raft hurtling through an unknown sea. I see a man, savagely battling a relentless demon. Shielded only by Faith and masking the crippling weakness brought on by his deep shame; his failure as a father.
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“But we’re still in love,” he continued. “Stronger than ever before, but it feels different in its evolution now. It’s not the fairytale, but the vulnerability that fuels the fire. The very essence of what makes us human…bounded by integrity and truth but still fundamentally flawed…that makes our love mature.”
Amber also opened up about their anniversary, refuting Smith’s claim that he was a failure.
“The other day Granger reposted a caption and photo of mine and said he wouldn’t change a thing,” Amber wrote. “Sitting here crying in my car, I just asked him to send me his same post so I could do the same … All of this is real, raw and so true. And I wouldn’t change but one thing. He’s not and never will be a failure to me. Happy 10 my warrior husband. No one else I would rather walk me Home than you.”
The Smiths sold their home after River passed away, and moved into a new one. The owners of their former home recently gifted the family with the growth charts of their three children, which were painstakingly removed and dropped off for the Smiths.
Photo Credit: Getty / Michael Tran
