Isabel Coles never imagined that her honeymoon would be the last time she’d see her husband alive.
Just one day after returning from what she described as a “perfect” trip, her husband Christopher, 28, took his own life—leaving behind no warning signs, only heartbreak and questions.
The couple, from Southern Pines, North Carolina, had married in a quiet courthouse ceremony in September and later celebrated at a beachfront music festival, Sea Hear Now, in New Jersey. They bonded deeply over music, which had always been a central part of their relationship.
“Everything about the weekend felt magical,” said Isabel, 32. “We were so insanely happy and in love. Music was how we connected. It felt like the perfect way to start our life together.”
But the happiness was short-lived.
The morning after they returned home, Isabel noticed something felt off. Christopher, a driven and successful military serviceman, was acting strangely—distant and unsettled—but he brushed off her concerns.
“He was folding laundry like normal, but something didn’t feel right,” she recalled. “I asked him what was wrong. He said, ‘nothing.’”
Moments later, Christopher left the house with a handgun. Isabel tried to stop him at the door but couldn’t. He disappeared into the nearby woods.
After failing to locate him, she called his parents in Georgia, who rushed to help. It was his father who eventually found Christopher’s body the following day.
“There were no signs,” Isabel said. “No red flags. He was motivated, kind, and constantly pushing himself to be better. It was a complete shock.”
In the months following his death, Isabel was still grappling with the loss when, on Valentine’s Day, a bouquet of flowers arrived at her door.
“I completely freaked out,” she said. “At first, I thought it was a mistake.”
But it wasn’t. The florist confirmed that Christopher had placed the order back in September, anticipating he’d be away on deployment during the holiday.
The couple had grown used to being apart due to Christopher’s military duties, and he often sent Isabel letters and notes even when he couldn’t be there physically.
“He would write to me every day, describing his day as if he were talking to me, even though he knew I couldn’t reply,” she said.
Looking back, Isabel said her husband had recently returned from duty in late August and was eager to get married. “He said he wanted to marry me in case anything ever happened to either of us.”
Isabel decided to share her experience publicly in a video that has since gone viral, viewed nearly 40 million times. But not all the responses have been supportive.
“People say things like it’s my fault or that I shouldn’t be telling his story,” she said. “But no one wants to believe that someone who’s handsome, smart, successful, and seemingly happy could wake up one day and decide to end their life.”
“There are people who blame me,” she added. “But we were happy. No one can take that away. He was obviously fighting something none of us could see.”
Now a grieving widow and mother, Isabel says she’s still struggling to move forward.
“There’s a part of me that’s gone forever,” she said. “I’m not okay. But I want people to know that sometimes, even those who seem perfectly fine are hurting deeply inside.”
