Jackie Siegel described her grief almost like a \u201cwake-up call.\u201d<\/p>\n
The actress and socialite, known as the \u201cQueen of Versailles,\u201d spoke with Fox News Digital about the aftermath of losing her husband David Siegel and sister Jessica<\/a> within days of each other in April 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like with these losses that I\u2019ve had, in some strange ways, got me closer to God,\u201d Siegel said, adding that she feels her purpose is to bring people together to save lives.<\/p>\n David, founder of Westgate Resorts<\/a>, died on April 5 at age 89 after battling cancer. <\/p>\n Three days later, her sister Jessica died at age 43 from an\u00a0accidental drug overdose.<\/p>\n In 2015, her daughter Victoria died at age 18 from an accidental overdose of methadone and sertraline.<\/p>\n \u201cHad I not gone through this hardship, I could have taken life for granted and not really\u00a0given back to the full potential\u00a0that I was put here for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201c[God has] put me in a position. I now realize that with the Broadway show coming out,\u00a0building the largest home in America\u2026 I mean hopefully I still look OK for my age\u2026 and you know, we have a hotel in New York right, and just all of these wonderful things that can\u2019t be there for gluttony,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI just realized he put it in place for a purpose. I just know that my purpose is to bring people together to save lives,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The \u201cQueen of Versailles\u201d Jackie Siegel discusses the aftermath of losing her husband David Siegel and sister Jessica days a part. Getty Images for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation<\/p>\n According to Siegel\u2019s foundation,\u00a0Victoria\u2019s Voice<\/a>, \u201con the day she died, Victoria had a pulse when first responders arrived and found her unresponsive, but they were not equipped with naloxone, and Victoria became another statistic.\u201d <\/p>\n Since then, \u201cVictoria\u2019s Voice is dedicated to drug awareness and prevention and saving lives from overdose.\u201d <\/p>\n David had also led efforts to increase naloxone access and use especially among law enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n David, founder of Westgate Resorts, died after battling cancer. Charles Sykes\/Bravo via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cAnd through that \u2013 through saving lives \u2013 because I know people come back. The sheriff\u2019s department, like Seminole County Sheriff told me they used\u00a0Narcan 700 times this past year. So. I just know in one county, we\u2019ve saved lives in that 700 administrations of the Narcan. And that gives me strength,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd to have people come up and give me a hug. That and give people comfort that have also lost their child or people that say, \u2018Thank you, you saved my child\u2019s life,’\u201d Siegel said.<\/p>\n Siegel said her foundation,\u00a0Victoria\u2019s Voice<\/a>, prints and distributes copies of her late daughter\u2019s diary to help engage parents and teenagers in conversations about drug use and addiction.<\/p>\n \u201cI just realized he put it in place for a purpose. I just know that my purpose is to bring people together to save lives,\u201d the socialite said. FOX News<\/p>\n After Victoria\u2019s death, one of her friends forwarded a text from her telling her mother that in the event of her death, to find her secret diary she kept and to publish it.<\/p>\n Victoria\u2019s Voice helps educate people and provide tools to prevent overdoses and substance-use disorders, according to the foundation\u2019s website.<\/p>\n She also works with Fentanyl Fathers, who are fathers who lost children to a drug overdose and now travel the country to talk about it.<\/p>\n Jackie Siegel attends the memorial service of her daughter Victoria Siegel in 2015. Getty Images<\/p>\n Siegel was recently in New York for the Angel Ball, where she served as a presenter for Amy Green with the Green Foundation, which focuses on saving the oceans.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve gotten this wonderful network of loving people \u2014 people that really care about this world. They care about our next generation. We care about our planet,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Siegel also opened up about losing her sister, who died on April 8, 2025, at age 43.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n She said she was reaching out to family members about David\u2019s death to organize a group painting therapy session, noting that she and her sister Jessica had always loved painting.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess she just got depressed and got a line of cocaine from her neighbor,\u201d she claimed. \u201cI thought it was cocaine, but it was Fentanyl. And she died so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe donated all of her organs. Her heart, her lungs, her skin, everything. So there\u2019s a lot of people and I can\u2019t wait to meet them someday. Maybe I\u2019ll invite them to Versailles,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n \u201cI think through this, the grief that I\u2019ve had, it\u2019s almost like a wake-up call for me,\u201d Siegel reflected.<\/p>\n Jackie Siegel and David Siegel attend Victoria\u2019s Voice Foundation National Naloxone Awareness Day Launch Event in 2023. Getty Images for Victoria’s Voice Foundation<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Cause I could have gone down a bad path in life, like when my husband started making a lot of money and he was like going to Las Vegas and just that life of more like the party scene I guess,\u201d she said. \u201cWe could have gone down that path, but we started to\u2026 but when our daughter passed away, that\u2019s like when we kind of straightened up and said, \u2018Hey wait a minute, you\u2019ve got a problem here.’\u201d<\/p>\n David and Jackie were the subject of a 2012 documentary<\/a> called \u201cThe Queen of Versailles,\u201d which followed their effort to build a mega-mansion in Florida dubbed Versailles \u2014 named after France\u2019s famed Palace of Versailles \u2014 amid financial hurdles.<\/p>\n Their 90,000 square-foot home remains under construction and is expected to become the largest single-family home in the U.S. \u2013 and one of the most expensive \u2013 when completed.<\/p>\n The home features 14 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms, with a 35-car garage and an in-house pub.<\/p>\n Construction began in 2004 but paused in 2008 during the recession, when David\u2019s company, Westgate Resorts, was hit hard and briefly listed the mansion for $65 million.<\/p>\n The documentary renewed public interest in their project and Westgate Resorts later recovered financially, allowing construction to restart in 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hurricane Ian, a category four storm that struck Florida in 2022, caused an estimated $10 million in damage to their property, according to\u00a0TMZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n