A real reminder. After Jana Kramer briefly lost her 4-year-old daughter, Jolie, at the park, she opened up about the “terrifying” experience to help other moms.
“I almost didn’t post about it because I was like, ‘Oh, gosh, here come the haters,’” the One Tree Hill alum, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, January 11, while promoting her One Brick wine brand’s launch. “I don’t want to defend. I know I’m a great mom. Like I’ve always said, I’m a good singer, I’m a good actress, but I’m a great freaking mom. I know that in my heart. So I was like, if I have to go up against these women … I know that I’m posting it because I would have loved the reminder.”
Kramer wrote via Instagram on January 4 that a woman walked up to her during a park trip and said, “Your daughter just got into a white SUV.” The songwriter wrote, “My heart went straight to my gut and I said, ‘WHAT?!!!’ I immediately ran as fast as I could to the parking lot where I then saw Jolie and [a] little girl coming around the back of the car to which the little girl’s mom was in car. I clung to Jolie so quick and caught my breath.”
Since sharing her story last week, “so many” of the Good Fight author’s friends have praised Kramer’s honesty and started stranger-danger conversations with their kids. “Hopefully this helped a kid not get hurt,” the “Beautiful Lies” singer said.
The Michigan native and her husband, Mike Caussin, haven’t been able to shake the fear they felt losing Jolie and being told that the little one had got into a car. Although the pair found their eldest child in the parking lot safe and sound, Kramer still “can’t get” the moment out of her head.
The actress’ initial reaction to finding her daughter “scared” Jolie. “My immediate response was, ‘Don’t you ever leave Mommy and Daddy,’” the “Whine Down” podcast host recalled. “I mean, sex trafficking is everywhere and it terrifies me. So I’m like, someone could have taken her, she could have got hit by a car in the parking lot. … It was a learning lesson.”
Since the scare, Kramer talks to Jolie daily about staying safe and playing only where her parents can see her.
The Dancing With the Stars alum, who also shares son Jace, 2, with the former professional football player, 33, has her hands full with her family of four but is releasing a chardonnay and red blend this month. “Obviously, I’m a big wine drinker. I wanted to make a wine that was affordable, but tasted like a million bucks,” Kramer told Us of One Brick. “I’m super pumped.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
