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Very sad news out of Hollywood and the entertainment industry this holiday weekend:
Sophia Hutchins, a close friend and manager to Caitlyn Jenner, passed in an ATV accident on July 29, according to numerous celebrity gossip outlets.
She was 29 years old.
In a horrible development first reported by TMZ — who spoke to local law enforcement sources — Hutchins was riding in an ATV in Malibu when her vehicle “struck the bumper of a moving car,” causing Hutchins to go over the shoulder and “350 feet down into a ravine” near Jenner’s home.
Hutchins was pronounced dead by first responders.
No one else was injured in the accident.
Hutchins served as CEO and director of the Caitlyn Jenner Foundation.
The two met in 2015 when Jenner announced her transition from a man to a woman, quickly bonding… as Hutchins later praised her pal for pushing her to grow.
Hutchins went on to appear in multiple episodes of the E! reality series I Am Cait.
“We were introduced through my makeup artist at a M.A.C. photo shoot,” Hutchins told the New York Times in 2019. “Having a similar sense of humor, we spent the entire time laughing and ended up meeting for brunch, and we’ve been great friends ever since.”
Due to their close bond, rumors swirled that the pair’s relationship was romantic in nature, but Hutchins (also a transgender female) told the aforementioned newspaper about five and a half years ago that they were “never romantically involved.”
Hutchins added that speculation began to swirl “because we weren’t addressing [the rumors].”
“We have so much in common; we see the world so similarly and we both are such a good match for each because we challenge each other,” Hutchins once said of their relationship in an interview with The Hidden Truth with Jim Breslo.
“She challenges me in so many ways, has allowed me to grow in so many ways and I hope I challenge her to grow and I think because we share so many of the same passions and views, it’s just a great match, a great partnership.”
Per a Radar Online insider, “Caitlyn is numb with shock” over Hutchins’ death.
“She is absolutely devastated and can’t believe what’s happened. Sophia was a big part of her life,” this website adds.
Hutchins was tight with many members of Kardashian-Jenner family, even appearing at Kylie Jenner’s 21st birthday party in 2018.
After becoming friends, Hutchins stepped into a manager role for Jenner.
“I saw nobody was managing her, and there were all these people taking massive advantage,” Sophia also told the New York Times awhile ago. “And I was saying, ‘Caitlyn, if I don’t step in here and start managing you, you’re going to go broke.’”
For her part, Jenner has often praised and credited Hutchins for assisting her in her transition and in her second phase of life.
“Over the last few years, Sophia has been my best friend, family and confidant,” Jenner said in 2019. “She is one of the top minds in her field. Her value in my life is undeniable. The sky is the limit with her entrepreneurial spirit.”
We send our thoughts to those who knew and cared about Sophia Hutchins. May she rest in peace.