Friends help fund widow Candice Miller’s move to Miami after husband’s suicide, $17M ‘debt’: source
Candice Miller is making a fresh start in Miami with a little “financial” help from her friends, Page Six is told.
The influencer mom-of-two, 42, was left “blindsided” by her husband Brandon’s July suicide at their $15.5 million Hamptons home, one pal said, prompting friends to rally around and support her move from NYC to Florida.
“Candice was blindsided by Brandon’s death, but she has some very supportive friends and family who have all stood by her and are helping her financially and in any other ways they can,” the pal said.
As Page Six previously reported, Brandon, a real-estate developer, was believed to be in debt to the tune of $17 million.
The grief-stricken widow is making the move with her two young daughters, who have already been enrolled into private school in Miami, to be closer to her sister, Jenna Crespi, with whom she ran the popular Mama + Tata social media brand.
Crespi lives in a $25 million home in Palm Beach she recently bought with her financier husband Robert.
There were rumors that Miller was moving to Miami’s exclusive Fisher Island, but we’re told that she will be living closer to Miami Beach.
Another insider added, “Candice wants to be able to start anew and be closer to family.”
Sources reported that ahead of her planned move to Miami, Miller has been sighted out in the Hamptons. She attended a perfume launch for her friend, fitness guru Tracy Anderson last week, and was seen dining at hotspot Tutto Il Giorno in Sag Harbor.
She is cousins by marriage with another prolific influencer, Something Navy’s Arielle Charnas, who has not yet made any public comment about Brandon’s passing.
Page Six is told that it’s as yet unclear whether Candice will have any money left following Brandon’s tragic death.
The influencer had been living with her husband and kids in a $47,000-a-month rented apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, after the couple sold their Tribeca apartment for $9 million in 2021.
She has already put their Water Mill estate on the market for $15.5 million.
Brandon bought the seven-bedroom property in 2011 for $3.2 million, developed it under the entity Cobb Isle Cottage LLC, and transferred it to his name when it was completed in 2013.
He was found unconscious in his Porsche Carrera in the home’s garage, after apparently rigging it to poison himself with carbon monoxide. He died on July 3 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, leaving behind a tangled web of unfinished real estate projects and delinquent payments — including more than $100,000 for luxury furniture and $50K for boat fees, according to law suits.
The New York Times reported Brandon had taken out $15 million in life insurance, but sources tell Page Six that it’s not yet clear whether Candice will be able to collect. Many policies include a “suicide clause” that does not pay out if the death occurs within a certain period after purchase.
It’s also uncertain whether she will also benefit financially from the sale of her Hamptons home. According to Real Deal, Candice was sued by mortgage lender Titan for $800,000 in missed payments and interest almost immediately after her husband’s death.
In 2017, Brandon, who was being sued by various companies at the time of his death, got a $3.25 million mortgage on the Hamptons home from Titan, according to property records. This was followed by more mortgages, including another for $1 million from Titan.
Brandon had taken the reins of his family company REEC following the death of his debt-ridden father Michael, from which friends said he never recovered.
The company’s portfolio was also heavy on office projects at a time when there was little demand for them after Covid.
Shortly before his death, a creditor told Candace about her husband’s financial situation, but Brandon assured her he was straightening everything out, the Times reported.
“A suicide note indicated he had killed himself while his wife and children were on vacation on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, according to a Suffolk County law enforcement official. He said Mr. Miller wrote that a business deal he had hoped would ease the family’s financial strain had collapsed,” The Times reported.
We have reached out to a rep for the Miller family for comment.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
