Stephen 'tWitch' Boss' Wife Paints Devastating Picture Of Secret Struggles Before His Death

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The following article mentions suicide, drug use, and sexual abuse.

In a January 2025 interview with People, dancer Allison Holker shared that she didn't realize the extent of her husband's personal struggles. After Stephen "tWitch" Boss' died of suicide at the age of 40 in 2022, Holker and a friend went through his closet to find an outfit for his funeral. That's when she discovered boxes full of mushrooms, pills, and other narcotics. She found it to be a "triggering moment," having not known that Boss was using so many different substances. However, it proved to be healing as well. "It was a really scary moment in my life to figure that out, but it also helped me process that he was going through so much and he was hiding so much, and there must have been a lot of shame in that," she explained. According to the autopsy report, no drugs were found in Boss' system when he died. 

Holder and Boss were married for nine years, and she knew that he would sometimes drink alcohol or smoke marijuana in the guesthouse away from their three children, Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia. Holder told People, "That was his alone time. It was his time to recharge, and that was okay." But as Holker struggled to adjust to life after Boss' death and began writing her new memoir, "This Far," she went through her husband's journals and learned about some of the traumatic life experiences he'd kept to himself, including apparently being sexually abused as a kid. Holder said, "He was trying to self-medicate and cope with all those feelings because he didn't want to put it on anyone because he loved everyone so much. He didn't want other people to take on his pain."

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According to People, over time, Allison Holker felt like her late husband, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, began to develop two separate versions of himself. One was what the public saw when Boss appeared alongside Ellen DeGeneres on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" or as a judge on "So You Think You Can Dance." But then there was the more introverted, private version of the dancer that his family knew and loved. Holker told People, "When I would think about my husband at the time, I would think, 'Oh, I love that tWitch is such a great performer, but then when he comes home he feels safe enough to be Stephen.'"

But now, years after Boss' death, Holker believes that his two sides were increasingly at war with one another, telling People, "You don't have to be a completely different person and put them aside from each other." Tragically, in a nod to the superhero who famously existed as two different personalities in both Clark Kent and the Man of Steel, Boss' last words were to their eldest daughter Weslie after he dropped her off at school, telling her, "I wish I could be your Superman."

If you or anyone you know is struggling or in crisis, needs help with addiction issues, or has been a victim of sexual assault, contact the relevant resources below:

• Call or text 988 or chat988lifeline.org
• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
• Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).