Gabby Petito’s Family Share the “Realization” They Came to Nearly 3 Years After Her Death

Gabby Petito's family is working to build their daughter's legacy. 

Nearly three years after the van life vlogger was found strangled to death in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming following a trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie—who later died by suicide and left behind a note confessing to killing her—her parents Nichole Schmidt and Joe Petito, as well as their spouses Jim Schmidt and Tara Petito, have continued to support survivors of domestic violence. 

In fact, the two couples, who refer to themselves as Gabby's "four parents," have become completely dedicated to The Gabby Petito Foundation, which they first established in October 2021, a month after her death. 

"We have to prevent this from happening to other people," Nichole, who heads the foundation, explained at CrimeCon Nashville June 1, per People. "It keeps us strong. Gabby works through us. We can't not do it. We have to move forward and change the world together."

In 2021, Gabby and Brian had been embarking on a cross-country road trip in their van, documenting the experience on social media. However, police were called to respond to a "domestic problem" involving the two in Moab, Utah in August 2021. The following month Brian returned to the couple's Florida home without the 22-year-old. 

Soon after, Gabby's parents reported her missing, and Brian became a person of interest in the case but exercised his right not to speak with authorities until he disappeared himself in late September. In October, police found his bodily remains in a Florida park later along with a notebook where he claimed responsibility for her death. 

Through the Gabby Petitio Foundation, the family has already seen the ripples their activism, and their daughter's own story, has had.

As Joe explained, "We get emails and messages on social media on how many people have left their bad relationships because of Gabby's story."

Meanwhile, Jim, who focuses on emergency worker's domestic violence response training through the foundation, noted that it has been "overwhelming" to see just how many survivors are out there. 

"It really made us come to the realization that they need a lot of help out there," the 42-year-old explained. "If we can just help one or two along the way, it goes a long way." 

Gabby's four parents even admit that they've been able to work through their own grief through the foundation—which they also note has brought them closer together since her death.

"We lean on each other one day at a time," Joe admitted. "We all are in it together. And the more we help, the more it makes us feel better."

And Tara, who had been a part of Gabby's life since she was a toddler, knows that her stepdaughter would be happy to see the work they've all accomplished together after living separate lives for so long.  As she noted of the parents' bond, "It was something Gabby always wanted."