Influencer’s ex ‘begged’ her to leave husband before fatal shooting

‘She couldn’t seem to get away’

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Lyle Landers said he had long been concerned about Gilson’s relationship with Jeremiah “Shawn” Duffey.

He believed Duffey had been a danger to her since the beginning of their relationship.

Gilson, 43, was found dead inside her Oklahoma home on Thursday, July 23, after police say Duffey shot her before taking his own life. 

The tragedy came just weeks after Gilson had publicly accused Duffey of being a pedophile.

Landers, who shared two children with Gilson, said he felt she had become trapped in a relationship where abusive behaviour had started to feel normal.

“I had begged her for five years to get away from him,” he told PEOPLE. “I had offered to help her, in any way I could, to get away from him. But he seemed to have some sort of control over her, and she couldn’t seem to get away.”

Despite the tragedy, Landers said he wants people to remember Gilson for who she was beyond her relationship, describing her as “a mom, a daughter, a sister and a friend,” as well as “a beautiful person, inside and out.”

“She loved people immensely, and without judgment,” he said. “Her greatest achievement in life, though, was in our two babies.”

Landers also spoke about Gilson’s dedication as a mother, revealing that she had once worried she would not know how to raise children.

“She was always so worried before we had kids that she wouldn’t know what to do, or that she wouldn’t be a good mom. Turns out, she was a great mom,” he said.