In 2007, on their popular MTV reality show "Run's House," Joseph and Justine Simmons documented the heartbreaking moment they lost their infant daughter, Victoria Anne Simmons. The couple has since opened up about their experience.
For multiple seasons, fans have had an up close and personal look at the lives of former rapper Joseph Simmons, his wife Justine Simmons, and their family.
This meant they also witnessed the couple endure one of the most painful moments of their lives: the loss of their newborn daughter, Victoria Anne Simmons.
Joseph and Justine Simmos at Burger Bash at the 19th Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival on February 21, 2020, in Miami Beach, Florida. | Source: Getty Images
Victoria Anne Simmons Was a Miracle Baby
At 42 and 43, Joseph and Justine had already welcomed five children—Vanessa, Angela, Joseph Jr., Daniel "Diggy," and Russell Simmons II— when they again decided to expand their family.
And during the second season of their famous family reality television series, the camera crew documented Justine's pregnancy with Victoria. Although the couple could not have foreseen the loss of their child, Justine revealed that falling pregnant in the first place had been a miracle. She said:
"For me to get pregnant that late in my life was a miracle. The pregnancy was not easy. I didn't eat at all. I didn't even gain a lot of weight. For a long time, the doctors couldn't even tell [the baby's sex], and we said we know it's a girl."
Justine and Joseph Simmons at the SiriusXM Studios on December 12, 2018, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images
Victoria Anne Simmons's Passing Was Documented on Her Family's Popular Reality Show
Halfway through their pregnancy with Victoria, doctors told Justine and Joseph that their baby girl had an omphalocele, a medical condition that caused her organs to grow outside her body.
However, the devoutly religious couple decided to continue the pregnancy. "Our faith told us that God could give us a miracle, and this baby could be born with no problems," Justine said.
The couple kept their daughter's diagnosis private, only informing their bishop and pastor as nobody knew the events that would unfold. Justine was later rushed to have an emergency C-section.
Justine was later rushed to have an emergency C-section. And during the third season of "Run's House," the camera crew captured the heartbreaking moment doctors informed the couple that Victoria did not make it.
Joseph and Justine Simmons at the 36th Annual Caucus Awards Dinner on November 30, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
How Victoria Anne Simmons's Passing Impacted Her Family and How They Moved On
Following the loss of their youngest daughter, Joseph revealed that his son, Daniel "Diggy" Simmons, had taken the news the hardest. The camera also captured the children's reaction to the heartbreaking news. Fortunately, Joseph and Justine's children had their parents to lean on. The former rapper said:
"Basically, we teach our kids thankfulness. We all cry, but not a long period of it. We don't have pictures [of Victoria Anne]. We don't look back. We don't want the walls of our house to start crying and everything to just crumble around us."
Angela, Daniel "Diggy," Russell, Joseph Jr., Justine Simmons, Vanessa, and Joseph Simmons at the Nickelodeon's 20th Annual Kids' Choice Awards on March 31, 2007. | Source: Getty Images
Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons and Justine further opened up about their healing journey in their book, "Old School Love," and Justine revealed that one of the ways she got through the difficult time was by not hiding or forcing down her feelings. "The enormity of losing a child after carrying it full-term will have a profound effect on you," she shared.
A year after Victoria's death, her parents were ready to open their hearts again as they decided to adopt their youngest child, Miley. And in their book, the couple shared that they could not have been happier about adopting.
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