Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Widow Speaks Publicly for First Time Since Trust Lawsuit News Broke

Just days ago, it was revealed that Malcolm-Jamal Warner‘s widow, Tenisha Warner, had filed a lawsuit against his family’s trust for $1.2 million. However, days before the news broke, Tenisha sat down with Gayle King on CBS Mornings to discuss the day Warner died a year ago and how she’s learned to live with her grief.

“Time feels slower in terms of what my life looks like now,” she said. “Because it’s without him. So every moment feels very slow. And so I go, ‘Wow, I’m 48, I have so much life.’ You know, as opposed to, I think before, you’re thinking about, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s going to 12, she’s going to be 14…'”

She explained how, even a year later, his death is “still a shock.”

The Day Everything Changed

Tenisha, Warner, and their 8-year-old daughter were on vacation in Costa Rica when the unthinkable happened. While swimming with his daughter in the ocean off the Limón Province, the two were caught in a strong rip current. While she was rescued, Warner drowned.

“Worst day of my life,” Tenisha told King. “It feels unfair. And all I could think about was my daughter and what I needed to do to continue to be her mother, and be her only parent.”

However, when it comes to the events of that day and whether she feared for her daughter’s life as well, Tenisha has trouble remembering details. “I think my body went through shock,” she said.

She admitted that they still live in the same house, and that she feels the Cosby Show star is always with her.

“I don’t think about moving because all of our memories are here,” she confirmed. “And it hurts. I can’t be in my own home without feeling the loss, but I can’t walk away.”

Seeking What She Says He Intended

In Tenisha’s lawsuit, she alleges that she and Warner signed a prenuptial agreement in May 2022, and that he agreed to a $1 million life insurance policy with her as the beneficiary. Because he never got the policy before his death, she wants the family trust to pay her. She is also seeking additional compensation for unpaid salary, anniversary payments, and a Roth IRA. Warner’s mother, Pamela, is the trustee of the Warner Family Trust.

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“For the last year, I have attempted to privately settle my beloved husband’s complicated estate and honor his last wishes,” she said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Malcolm had every intention to provide for our 9-year-old daughter and me.”

“I have been struggling to care for our daughter as a single mom and now as her sole provider,” Tenisha continued. “Legally, I had no choice but to take action to protect our rights before any potential statute of limitations expired.”

Whatever the legal outcome, the case underscores how outdated estate planning can complicate a family’s grief, leaving Tenisha to fight for the support she says her husband intended for her and their daughter, even as she continues to process a loss she describes as still feeling like “a shock” one year later.