Luke Perry’s tragic death: How his kids are handling the loss
The aftermath of Luke Perry's death has devastated his friends, family and fans all over the world, and his kids Jack and Sophie Perry are privately grieving his loss. As teen daughter Sophie expressed her sorrow on Instagram, her 21-year-old brother hasn't made a public statement, but is clearly feeling the impact of the sudden tragedy. The wrestler, known as Jack "Jungle Boy" Perry, had been due to compete in Bar Wrestling's March 13 show at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, but has had to pull out of the event as he mourns his beloved dad.
Proud dad Luke with Jack and Sophie back in 2004
"Unfortunately Jungle Boy will no longer be wrestling at our March 13th show," organizers posted on Twitter. "Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time." Luke had been a huge supporter of his sons wrestling career and had attended many of his matches. Earlier this year, the Beverly Hills, 90210 actor watched Jack as he competed in a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla event in Los Angeles, with MMAFighting.com's Esther Lin capturing a touching photograph of the screen star observing his son doing his thing in the ring. Sharing the snap on Twitter, Esther added: "It was so sweet and adorable. And now I’m so incredibly sad."
Now young adults, Jack and Sophie chose to spend their lives away from the spotlight despite their father's fame. Above, the threesome at a charity event in 2004
Jack, who was signed by professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling back in January, began wrestling professionally in high school, but always maintained he didn't want to get ahead by using his father's name. “My family is a part of who I am, but I’m trying to make my own way. I don’t want to use [my father’s fame] to be successful, I want to have my own success,” he once told Sports Illustrated.
Unlike her brother, Sophie has chosen to speak openly about her dad's death. The 18-year-old, who was in Africa when her father suffered a massive stroke last Wednesday, February 27, flew back immediately to be with her family. Sadly, after her dad passed away on March 4, Sophie took to Instagram to express her gratitude and revealed how she’s learning to deal with the situation following her father’s sudden passing. Her Instagram is evidence of how much Sophie loved her father and like many father-daughter relationships, she seemed to be a daddy’s girl.
The young adult shared a sweet photo of her with her arm around her father. “A lot has happened in this past week for me,” she wrote. “Everything is happening so fast. I made it back from Malawi just in time to be here with my family, and in the past 24 hours I have received an overwhelming amount of love and support,” she continued. Understandably the teen is still taking in the loss of her 52-year-old father, who subsequently appears on her social media account.
For her very first Instagram post, she shared a cute pic of her dad giving her a kiss on the cheek on prom day. Sophie also shared photos of him during his time on Broadway, as well as with his dear friend Alexis Arquette with whom he was very close.
MORE: Luke Perry passes away at age 52 after suffering massive stroke
His untimely death also meant not only devastation for his children, but also, tragically, that he would never walk down the aisle with Wendy Madison Bauer. The couple's secret engagement was only revealed after his death, when in a statement Luke's representative referred to Wendy as the actor's fiancée for the first time.
Luke was of course known for his roles as teen heartthrob Dylan Mckay in Beverly Hills 90210 and was playing Archie’s dad in the CW hit Riverdale.