Isaiah Washington broke his silence on his wife Jenisa Marie Garland’s sudden death in June 2025, sharing news via Instagram more than a year after she died from a massive hemorrhagic stroke.
“It was shocking and difficult for our whole family,” Washington, 63, wrote in a post accompanying a black-and-white photograph of his late wife. “She succumbed to a massive hemorrhagic stroke and never recovered.”
A Warning for Others
Washington used the post to urge people to take warning signs seriously. “Some headaches may signal a serious medical emergency, not just routine pain,” he wrote. “Get medical evaluation and take any persistent symptoms seriously.”
Garland died 13 months before Washington’s post. The three children she and Washington raised together, Tyme, Iman and Isaiah V., carry on her memory.
Their Life Together
Washington and Garland married on Valentine’s Day 1996 after meeting at a dinner party in Los Angeles. The pair raised three children together: Tyme, Iman and Isaiah V. Garland, a former fashion designer, remained out of the public eye throughout Washington’s acting career, which included his prominent role as heart surgeon Preston Burke on Grey’s Anatomy.
In 2022, according to Us Weekly, Washington discussed how his marriage shaped his career. He explained that his commitment to his family influenced which roles he accepted, saying he prioritized work that he could stand behind when discussing it with his children years later.
Isaiah Washington on Keeping Her Memory
Washington acknowledged the difficulty of speaking publicly about Garland, who valued her privacy. He grappled with sharing her story publicly while respecting the woman she was, writing in his Instagram post about the tension between honoring her legacy and respecting what mattered to her in life.
Reporting from Us Weekly contributed to this story.
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