The Afterlife Signs Gabby Petito Sends Her Family | Signs From Beyond

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: [00:00:00] Gabby was homesick. She came home to New York that's when she ran into Brian. And when she moved down to Florida, it was pretty quickly, um, probably within six or or so months they started talking about, um, going on a road trip in a van.

I wasn't worried until the moment right before she left, when she hugged me goodbye and she started crying.

I finally had to walk into a police department in New York and beg and say, please just give me a missing person's report. That's all we need.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: So we were driving to go get, food and there was so much rain at this point in time.

It was like just moved down to Florida. My whole house was still in boxes. We were going to get food and lightning struck.

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: the

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: car, like right next to my car where I felt it in my spine And I was like, I've never felt it. So powerful before. And I know

that,

that was was Gabby telling us to

like

wake up

like

that she's that, that she's not [00:01:00] here.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: My kids were in the living room. we were obviously in the kitchen just doing what we had to do, trying to. Talk to media. And FBI, I think, had already called at that point, we were just doing what we had to do. All of a sudden the TV in the living room shot up a hun 100 volume. It was so loud. I was like telling the kids, I'm like, what are you doing? They were like, we're not touching it. the remote stopped working.

We couldn't turn the volume down and I had to unplug the TV to get it to stop. None of the buttons on the remote work. I couldn't turn it off. I couldn't turn the volume down. I believe it was Gabby just screaming, hello.

come find me.  but again, at that time, I knew something had happened, but I wasn't looking at that as a sign until after the fact.

And I was like, you know what? That was definitely her.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: we were doing a interview with 2020. It was right after the Netflix, after Netflix, and we actually were just, we were just talking about her signs, the signs that she sends, and one of them was electronics. and I think a

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: And then we, we

kept on with our interview and afterwards they run [00:02:00] up to us and they're like, we have to tell you something.

Speaker: Welcome to Next Realm, Beautiful Stories from Beyond, a show that explores the profound and heartwarming stories of individuals who've experienced messages from their departed loved ones. I'm your host, Amber Rasmussen, and today I'm joined by Gabby Petito's mother, Nicki Schmidt, and stepmother, Tara Petito.

In 2021, the world followed Gabby's tragic story after she was murdered during a cross-country trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. And since her passing, Nicki and Tara say Gabby continues to send them incredible signs from beyond, moments that remind them that her spirit is still close. In this deeply personal conversation, they're opening up about those experiences for the very first time and how those messages continue to guide their work with the Gabby Petito Foundation.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: I am honored that you guys even said yes to coming on Next Realm and talking about Gabby and [00:03:00] how her spirit has come through. So I just wanted to start with, what are your favorite things about her?

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: We miss Gabby so much.

She was really a light in our lives. she got into trouble too, but in the end we were always just so happy with her. She was just such a great personality. She loved things that were really funny, and she tried to tell jokes, which she wasn't very good at. She would forget how to say it or miss the whole, um, reason for the joke. And then she would have to go back and tell it again. And, so she tried to be funny, but she loved to laugh. So we miss her laugh a lot.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Her presence could light up an, entire room. Her smile, she just had this infectious laugh.

And

she just

had

a fearless life.

She didn't like to go outside a lot, camping wise, but she did always, like to go on adventures. Ever since she was younger, we would  always, try to go on any adventure that we, we could go on.

Thankfully we were able to do that when [00:04:00] she was,

in her teenage years, and we were able to do so much. And I'm so thankful that I have all of those memories

Amber Rasmussen - Host: I thought I

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: that, that

Amber Rasmussen - Host: that she was quite artistic

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: She could draw herself portrait perfectly.

She could do it in,, colored pencils.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Her art, it was just so natural. From the time she could pick up a pencil, she was drawing crayons, whatever it was, painting, finger painting, whatever she could do.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: You mentioned she's not outdoorsy,

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: 2012, Superstorm Sandy flooded our house. So we were nomads for a little bit, but we, found some rentals and stuff. And the last few months before we moved into our new home, we bought a camper because we could no longer be in the rental house that we were in. And we were just waiting for our house to be completed.

So we were like, let's do something fun. It was summertime. So we get this camper and she comes with us and wakes up the next morning and says, oh my gosh, there's a spider in my brush. I [00:05:00] can't do this, I can't do this. I'm not doing this. And she, so then she decided to go stay more with her dad. She was living with her dad on and off throughout that whole process.

'cause we didn't have our home yet. But once we got into the home, she was back it, but it was just so funny 'cause she hated camping, even with a camper. It wasn't like we were in a tent, we were in a camper.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: What was it about it that she didn't like other than spider in her hairbrush? Was it just, I don't like

_1_03-09-2026_100832: like

Amber Rasmussen - Host: living in a suitcase or like a bag, or not being able to shower? Or was it specifically that she was just like, Ugh, I don't like this.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: it was all of those things.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: She's a lot like her dad. Her dad doesn't really like camping either. he like, we

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: always

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: joke, he's very

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Hey, nothing wrong with that.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: um, the mint on his pillow when he wakes up,

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: up at a hotel

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I always say she was like a

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: and miss.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: but sprinkle a

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: bougie

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: her.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Okay, so how in the heck, so she was, how old was she when she started doing the, the camper van, and how did that even come to be?

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: when she, graduated high school. She [00:06:00] moved to North Carolina and met, um, her ex-boyfriend Jackson, who we love. He's very much a part of our family still. They talked about possibly doing something like this, going on a long road trip, and they just didn't have the funds or the means to do it.

So it was something that they talked about doing in the future. but they, amicably broke up. Gabby was homesick. She came home to New York that's when she ran into Brian. And when she moved down to Florida, it was pretty quickly, um, probably within six or or so months they started talking about, going on a road trip in a van.

And they had already gone on a road trip in her car right before they left for Florida. So she had experienced it, but they were staying at Airbnbs mostly. It wasn't like the real camping experience. And then that's when she decided that she wanted to do that.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: So it wasn't like just a random guy, she knew who he was

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: yes. Brian and Gabby were friends in high school. They had the same friend [00:07:00] group. He was

niki-schmidt_1_03-09-2026_130832: one year older.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: He graduated a year before she did. when she had moved down

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Yep.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Carolina and then came back, it was just by chance that they ran into each other. He was up visiting his parents.

'cause he lived in Florida already.

Yeah, it was really just. An unbelievable, horrible, situation that she ran into him

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Were you excited for her?

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: So

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: I was not excited about the second trip. The first trip, you should definitely go

I mean,

wouldn't wanna go see the world that way? Or the country that way and, that it has to offer.

But the second one, I was like,

hmm.

I started noticing

Amber Rasmussen - Host: What about,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: I was just, I was not

_1_03-09-2026_100832: did

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I wasn't worried

about the trip itself. as a mom of course, I'm like at least she's with Brian. I'm pretty sure he could protect her. And, um, I asked him before they left too, I said, do you guys have any weapons on you?

He said he was not carrying a gun in the van because, across state lines, there's different laws and he didn't have a license for guns.

I wasn't worried until [00:08:00] the moment right before she left, when she hugged me goodbye and she started crying. And I don't know, that always stuck with me. I thought it was really weird that she was crying. I guess I thought it was out of excitement at the time, but something felt off about it. And I really do think that was Gabby's kind of subconsciously knowing that something was gonna happen. 

Amber Rasmussen - Host: and I don't really, and maybe they have, but has other news outlets covered that first trip? 'cause I'd imagine if that one went smoothly, that would even assure you even more. Okay, they already did it once and no issues. She never came back saying, oh man, we fought the whole time.

It was terrible. Or anything like that.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Supposedly they weren't even dating before they left on that trip. That's when they really close and came back and said, okay, we're dating now, type of thing. Um, but yeah, no, it was, she said she, it was the most fun she had ever had, and she was so excited to do it again.

And that's when I, she really was like pumped up to [00:09:00] make that a thing at some point. 

Amber Rasmussen - Host: So then did she start her channel before they set off or was that just I'm just teaching myself as I go, I'm just gonna do this 

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: She had already been posting on Instagram and stuff, preparing

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: while on the road, she developed the name, she made a website. and then she planned her first YouTube video and she got it done.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: , So she was documenting her first trip. as well,

Yeah. had to teach it all. She, that's how much determination she had, 

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: and

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: that's how artistic and creative she could be.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah. I'm so impressed. And what a go-getter too, because it's a lot, especially, navigating the travel at the same time. You're living in close quarters with someone, you're teaching yourself how to do this. She's probably having to interact with people that are watching too.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: And he didn't like it one bit. He belittled the whole situation.

niki-schmidt_1_03-09-2026_130832: didn't like

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: the online stuff. YouTube none of it.

_1_03-09-2026_100832: yeah. He just wanted

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: [00:10:00] to go camping. He didn't and have her all to himself. He didn't want her to be able to work at all and do anything for herself.

Meanwhile, we had producers actually look at 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: footage and

Amber Rasmussen - Host: yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: they would've hired her on the spot,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: During her trip, was she reaching out? Was it like a I'll talk to you every Sunday, I'll talk to you every day, or what, so the minute all of sudden you're like.

Something doesn't feel right. What was that trigger where you're just like, was it your intuition saying I don't know, there's just, I need to check in on her, or something doesn't feel right. What was that moment?

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I was talking to her. Pretty much daily, even if it was a text, it was

Some FaceTimes. There came a point where I wasn't getting any texts. There was no activity on social media. I called her dad and I said, Hey, have you heard from the kids?

And, he said he hadn't. And I was like, I don't know. I'm worried. And we all were like maybe they just have no signal, because the last text that I [00:11:00] received said, we're in Yosemite and we have no signal.

I always hear these horror stories about National parks. So I'm starting to panic. that Thursday, before we reported her missing, we started calling National parks trying to find out if they could. Put up some kind of search for her, just to find out where she is.

After all the phone calls that we all made and we were all trying to get her reported missing to all the different police departments, I finally had to walk into a police department in New York and beg and say, please just give me a missing person's report. That's all we need. And then we can get moving on actually looking for her.

Because at that point, you're at a standstill. You can't expect the law enforcement to do anything. It was this wonderful woman, Detective Tracy Barry. She saw my mom heart breaking and decided to file a report. She said, I don't know if I can do much from here. But then little did she know that she was going to basically break open the whole entire case from New York and, shattered [00:12:00] our whole world to find out that Brian was home with the van and Gabby was nowhere to be found. we were just scared to death from that night on, I don't think we ate or slept for weeks. 

 he just left her there. He left her there and he left.

He went home. So that was a horrible moment. I feel the chills when I think about it. that feeling of shock that we had.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: 

I know you're probably like, I can't reach him, but did you try his family or

her friends to be like, have you guys heard from them what's going on? Because it's definitely, I'm sure, like one thing when you feel like, maybe they fell hiking or they're hurt versus someone's not coming home.

When was that shift? Was it when they found out he was home in Florida? 

Or was it, oh, I had this really horrible feeling that it's bigger.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I thought from the start that they were both missing. I sent Roberta, his mother a text saying, have you heard from the kids? I'm worried about them. And I [00:13:00] got no response. I tried to text Brian. I got no response.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: So we were driving to go get, food and there was so much rain at this point in time.

It was like just moved down to Florida. My whole house was still in boxes. We were going to get food and lightning struck.

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: the

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: car, like right next to my car where I felt it in my spine And I was like, I've never felt it. So powerful before. And I know

that,

that was was Gabby telling us to

like

wake up

like

that she's that, that she's not here.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Wow.

Did you tell,

 Nikki and the family about that sign

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: I

don't think I really

like

said it to anybody else. Joe doesn't really believe in signs.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: think then we were just in full mode where, you know, um, trying to find her. I think once missing, Nikki and I already

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: of

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: knew that she was

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: bad.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: knew.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: bad had happened, but we had to communicate with each other that we have [00:14:00] to have hope. We didn't want to lose hope, even though deep down my mom gut told me something bad

happened.

especially when the detective came to the door and said Brian was home.

I knew

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: 

he killed

her. Like in

my brain.

I said he killed her. He took her

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: and

And I couldn't call

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: I

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: knew in when 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: you, when she called us, I instantly that that's, that. he, yeah. I,

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: missing. Brian's home with the van. Um, we need to find her. 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: no.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I put up a Facebook page.

that page got shared hundreds of thousands of times

Amber Rasmussen - Host: It's crazy.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: hours. It was just unbelievable how yeah, I knew, and then I spoke to a medium, a few days after that. it was a friend of mine who's a

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Oh, and this is before she was found? Oh

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: she was found, and I didn't tell the other parents 'cause I obviously was like, I'm not going to take away that hope.

And I was just at that point like, we just need to find her. 

where they found

her was basically where he was saying.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Wow. Wow.

[00:15:00] Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: with families that never find their loved ones. I'm really glad we found her.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: yeah.

we call it hell week I mean, my husband was just doing one news, report after another. but I was trying to hold down the fort with the kids and family, And they kept calling and everybody's 

like,

oh, you, you're gonna find her.

You're gonna bring her home. And my one question was,

well,

if that was the

Amber Rasmussen - Host: A hundred.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: home and have a lawyer​

 

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: when we reported her missing, it was the day after, so we found out Brian was home with the van that night, on September 11th, 2021. The next day was Sunday. my kids were in the living room. we were obviously in the kitchen just doing what we had to do, trying to. Talk to media. And FBI, I think, had already called at that point, we were just doing what we had to do. All of a sudden the TV in the living room shot up a hun 100 volume. It was so loud. I was like telling the kids, I'm like, what are you doing? They were like, we're not touching it. the remote stopped working.

We couldn't turn the volume down and I had to unplug the TV [00:16:00] to get it to, to stop. None of the buttons on the remote work. I couldn't turn it off. I couldn't turn the volume down. I believe it was Gabby just screaming, hello.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: come find me.  but again, at that time, I knew something had happened, but I wasn't looking at that as a sign until after the fact.

And I was like, you know what? That was definitely her. 'cause she plays with electronics a lot,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yes. I feel like that's the,

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: was her

Amber Rasmussen - Host: like the, what's the word? Like the entry, like once they pass over, it's that's the first thing I feel like they start doing is, turning things off and on, or flickering lights or, it's

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I guess it's the

Amber Rasmussen - Host: like

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: thing for

Amber Rasmussen - Host: skill. They're learning on the other side of Ooh, I can do this.

and then they do other stuff later.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: It's hard to remember everything. Go ahead, Tara.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: we were doing a interview with 2020. It was right after the Netflix, after Netflix, and we actually were just, we were just talking about her signs, the signs that she sends, and one of them was electronics. and I think a

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: And then we

kept on with our interview and afterwards they run up to us and they're [00:17:00] like, we have to tell you something. When you said that all of the headphones had static in them and everything glitched out

And then it went back to normal.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Oh my God.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: there's

so

many times where that has something like that has happened

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Oh

Amber Rasmussen - Host: my gosh.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: yeah.

We say it,Yep.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Boston

at a college

and it was a smaller kind of auditorium. There was probably about a hundred people there. Somebody asked a question and I started talking about Gabby and the lights just went all the way dim and all the way back on, and that was the only time I did it the entire night.

And I was like, oh, that was Gabby.

​

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: I'm gonna say a month after,

we found Gabby, so it wasn't, it was gotta be two months after, um, she had passed. And I'm sitting in my living room I was all up in my feelings, all emotional, and I heard a cooing outside and I can hear like a little tapping on my window

Amber Rasmussen - Host: my God, you guys, I have goosebumps.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: it was a morning dove

just sat there.

And

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Oh,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: that [00:18:00] was her

coming to

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: tell

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: me that

Amber Rasmussen - Host: that's sweet.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: you know, like

, I'm here and I'm okay.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: tell her

about the Eagles?

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Oh. So, I'm gonna start with, so I guess when jim has his own Eagle story, um, from like right after Gabby was found, and then I was like,

well,

I wanna see an eagle, So I'm driving around and I'm like, I've never seen like. a, a, a real life live eagle,

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: before in my life. I'm like I, but it was like. in in nature. Not like in a, like a, like in the wild. Sorry. so I was driving home from my son's school. I'm like, I wanna see an eagle, Gabby, you need to send me an eagle

gabs,

I wanna see a real one.

So I go I'm on Facebook, and then I see she, I see a picture of an eagle that like my aunt posted.

I'm like,

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: no,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: , So I was, I my son's school the way the, the, the way that I normally would take had I had to take a different way 'cause they were doing a lot of work. And, and then

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Oh my gosh.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Eagle and I was like,

right. Sitting [00:19:00] there up on the perch. '

at this point I'm like, Gabs I'm like, I want like an eagle to

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: soaring

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: over my car.

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: Like

_1_03-09-2026_100832: Did she 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: cool.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: tell me you got a picture or video or something

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: over my

Amber Rasmussen - Host: car.

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: so then

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Wyoming

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: we go to Jackson, um, in September, um,

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: and

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Wyoming and we take a helicopter ride. Joey's very upset about this because he didn't get to go 'cause he wasn't with us and he's only wanted to take a helicopter ride.

But anyway, that's besides The point. But then we all of a sudden, um. pilot was like pulling up. We're like, why is he pulling up? Like he's jerking up.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: you

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: an eagle that

Amber Rasmussen - Host: screaming oh.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: the

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I don't even think I took a.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Oh my

Amber Rasmussen - Host: No,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: So

Amber Rasmussen - Host: I couldn't.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: take

Amber Rasmussen - Host: No, it's just seared in your memory forever. That is so cool.

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: but then a couple

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: days later, Nikki and I are driving from uh, uh, Jackson down to Laramie. 'cause we another event in Laramie. Wyoming. Wyoming. It's a six hour drive with

like

[00:20:00] nothing in between. and we are like asking for her for signs. like We wanna, we want that sign like that. We should like move to Wyoming. Like we need to be here. that e that

Amber Rasmussen - Host: is crazy.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: flew

_1_03-09-2026_100832: They

Amber Rasmussen - Host: don't

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: car at

Amber Rasmussen - Host: do that either.

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: but

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: backtrack a little bit with the Eagle

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: the FBI was looking for Gabby out in Spread Creek and our advocate, she's indigenous, she was amazing. Jim was out there and she said to Jim, she said, an eagle is flying over.

And he saw the eagle and she said, that's the spot. We're gonna find her. And that was the next day they found Gabby under the

eagle.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: So it's all connected and it's something that only you would know. Uh, we always find like signs or if, if the person who passed like loved, I don't know, a certain movie or a certain saying or whatever, it'll, that will be something, they're always connected where you're like, yes, a hundred percent.

 

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: watch Matilda or 

Amber Rasmussen - Host: really?

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Tangled,

Oh

Yeah.

niki-schmidt_1_03-09-2026_130832: favorite.[00:21:00]

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: We're

tangled. I can't

watch Tangled, even

_1_03-09-2026_100832: I was

Amber Rasmussen - Host: watching it.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: flying home from somewhere recently, and the woman next to me was watching

and

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah. Again, another sign.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: that

Amber Rasmussen - Host: It's like their way to

 Hey. Hey. Because they know that you're gonna think of

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Yeah.

was playing because I can't, that's another movie

 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: right after, I think the next year, um, the high school,  at one of her high schools, that's where, they were

_1_03-09-2026_100832: Oh

Amber Rasmussen - Host: my gosh.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: for their, the musical. It was, it was here too, where,

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: you know,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: where

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: I moved

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: to

​

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Tara, you need to tell your

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: yeah. '

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: cause that one is

niki-schmidt_1_03-09-2026_130832: awesome.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Oh my God.

so  I was actually, so I was driving to Nikki's house. Um, we were events Tampa. And, um,

you know,

it's a two and a half hour, three hour drive. So of course I have to stop and get gas. And I get gas. And it stopped at $55 and 55 cents.  I'm like, I need to take a picture of it.

I never took a photo of it. Um, I'm like, does, that's [00:22:00] a weird number

for,

for like, it to stop on and it just, you know, 5, 5, 5, 5. I was like, that's crazy. So when I sat in the car, I put my seatbelt on, I felt a dime come over my shoulder. So I put my seatbelt on this way. Right. You know, and then I felt a dime come over my

Amber Rasmussen - Host: What the heck?

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: and I landed on my leg

and

I was like, there's nobody in the car with me. I someone told me that story.

like,

yeah. Okay. They're crazy. but I'm like, it really? no A dime

Amber Rasmussen - Host: That is crazy.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: sitting on my leg. I was like, . I have no idea where it came from.

And you find

out that

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: like

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: a lot of

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Oh,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: a spirit will throw a dime because

Amber Rasmussen - Host: are you serious? I didn't know that.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: lay the, least.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: it's

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: easy. That's

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Always.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: for them

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: random

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: yeah.

niki-schmidt_1_03-09-2026_130832: it's

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: just the smallest, lightest coin. So but, I'm always

like, Gabby, paper money. Paper money.

​

[00:23:00]

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Has your, um, husbands, you said that he,

_1_03-09-2026_100832: they,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: they had stuff too, or the siblings. Have they ever had any experiences?

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: so I have 2 boys.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: they,

_1_03-09-2026_100832: I

Amber Rasmussen - Host: understand it either, and some people until it happens,

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: much.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom:  And I don't really talk to them about it 'cause they're not very open. I will talk to her dad about it. He did have one major sign. sign. So when we were in the dr  Gabby picked out this elephant painting So in order to get it home, you had to take it off the frame, unfortunately,  so they could, and they wouldn't ship it. So they roll it.

up and they put it in a, a tube and we get home

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: and

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: kind of

forgot about it.

And

never,

never had it framed later on I was like, oh. Honey, we should really get this framed

for

for Gabby, because it is her painting. She did pick it out. Just never happened. then when we moved down to Florida, after everything that happened, he was like, I think we finally need to get

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: this,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: this painting framed.

So [00:24:00] he took it, we picked out the frame, whatever. and when he went to pick it up and brought it back,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Oh

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: it

it was raining and he, there was a double rainbow.

he's like,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: yeah. Oh, I love that.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: the,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: So sweet. 

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: my youngest, she has dreams all the time.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I

think she's the most

open and she doesn't get upset. I've heard that

Amber Rasmussen - Host: yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: won't come in dreams 'cause they know it's gonna upset you. Uh, 'cause you're gonna wake up like because you got to see them again and you wanna go back. But yeah, so she has a lot of dreams and so does my 17-year-old actually.

she's open 

with me about it.

 

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Was your, on a scale, like of believing science? 'cause you had gone straight to a medium and I don't know. I feel like all of us are like, I wanna go talk to a medium. I need someone to give me a. Like a direct line of what's going on and whether you believe in mediums or not, I feel like this, it's like this natural inclination of someone's gotta help me.

I gotta, believe or not believe, but I'm still willing to take a chance to [00:25:00] see what they have to say. Were you

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Yeah.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: already into it?

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: my. Very spiritual. Always believed that we never actually die, we're

always,

uh,

just a non-physical form when we leave here.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: it was easy for me to understand that someone could see Gabby right away.

So he's somebody that I trust. Uh, it wasn't like it was a random person and he asked me if I wanted to know what he knew. He said, do you want to hear it? And I was like, I, yes. I was like, ready for it. 'cause I knew deep down  when he said, yes, she did cross over her grandmothers were there with her.

meaning Joe's mom and my mom. ' cause they had both passed, when she was around 10, 11 years old. he described where she was and I knew at that moment like, okay, like we're looking for her. not alive, we're looking for her. and I was kind of very like, just, I, I just kept going and doing what I had to do to [00:26:00] get through until we found her.

And then once we got the news that she was found, I just finally broke down I remember just landing on the floor, like that was the moment where

Amber Rasmussen - Host: It's real.

niki-schmidt_1_03-09-2026_130832: even

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Though I already knew. but finding her, it was really a blessing for us.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah. 

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: Yeah,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: there's families that go 10, 30, 40 years

never get

any answers. and, um, when we were going through it that week, and,

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: you know,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: we're trying to get her information out as much as possible.I just remember sitting there, I'm like,

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: how, how

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: long can this go on for? I mean, thankfully

we have, um, you know, Gabby's remains,

niki-schmidt_1_03-09-2026_130832: her.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: we, we cremated her.

So she sits with us. She,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: have her, I don't, not wearing her right now. 'cause I take, took it off,

 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: before I went to sleep last night. but, uh, yeah, so there's families that don't get anything.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: we do have some an, we have some answers

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: He,

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: and

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: we have her [00:27:00] with us at all times,

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: well. They were out in the middle of nowhere.

he could have gotten away with it because usually don't, there's no conviction when there's, uh, no

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: So

_1_03-09-2026_100832: Right.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: he could have gotten away with it. Would he have taken his life still?

I don't like, I don't know what the outcome would've been, but we would've still been searching for her, and I don't think

we would've

been able to go back to normal life ever.

We're still not in normal life

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Yeah,

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: at least we have resolution and imagine how I would be doing if we didn't have her.

 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: we would not be doing what we're doing now.

We would not be able, I don't think we would be able to even function like we are now. Um, we say that, you know, because we were able to her home, we were able to start our grieving process.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: through if she is out there?

with the girls. We went for a walk looking for beach glass and it's by Tampa Bay and Florida. And was just looking around and I'm like, Gabby, I need a good piece. 'cause up in New York, we used to find [00:28:00] really cool pieces of glass. We'd find blue and all different colors.

I said, gimme something cool like a, a light blue or a purple piece. I looked down and it wasn't light blue or purple, but it was a perfectly shaped heart.

And I was like, thanks Gab.

you didn't get me the color, but you got me a really cool heart.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

I love that.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Yeah.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Obviously we're human beings and we still have to go through, unfortunately, the grieving process and the anger, the fear, like all the steps. But I, it seems like people who have a really good, strong sense of the spiritual world and that they're not just gone, that you're never gonna see them again, like having this belief system.

I always ask people do you feel like it's, it's helped you keep moving one step in front of the other?

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I think

so. I,

think

if you're open to it and you have more signs,  

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: I,

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: feel more comfort. And,  I think I hear a lot of people say, I never get signs. how do you get signs? Like they ask, like, how, and it's really just asking and being open, talking to them as if they're still here.

You have to have conversations with them. And [00:29:00] they can hear you. they can send signs. You just gotta be open to receiving those signs.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yep.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom:  yeah, I think it's just, uh, also too, um, being mindful. Of your surroundings, um, and what you're doing as a person. I never wanted to be that person laying in bed, and just crying my eyes out. I

do

do that. I'm not saying that I don't, and it's hard to get out of it, but yes, the signs always will help. And I keep telling Gabs, I'm please just keep sending them to me.

 Um, sometimes. I'm like

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: you deserve to you deserve to

like

take a break sometimes. And then there's times I'm like,

no, no,

no, I need them. and Nikki and I always like when we were traveling together, we seem to get a lot more together, or she knows that

like

if before we're on a big trip like that, she'll

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: but yeah, it's just really about you have to be open to them

Um, you have to,

and

you have to make that mindful decision where you want to be open to them

Amber Rasmussen - Host:  I feel like in, in the very early stages, after one passes, they send them [00:30:00] fast and furious. It's

like,

I need you guys to know. I need you to know. And then we've noticed over the years, they get a little less frequent. And so that's where you need to ask them like, Hey, gab, show me a, a seashell or whatever today, , and I always hear that they want to hear from us.

Like it's like a open dialogue that you can talk to them anytime.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: to ask

for specific

things like,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yes.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: so

you know for sure

that it's them. So you

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yep.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: want to 

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: something that you don't

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: Maybe if you don't see a ladybug ever, just be like, I just wanna see a ladybug today in the house.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Then you would know.

, Like a lot of people just have this analytical side of their brain where it's like immediate ugh, no. But like you said, if it's specific Eagle I

_1_03-09-2026_100832: flying

Amber Rasmussen - Host: by,

niki-schmidt_1_03-09-2026_130832:  Yeah, she

waited

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: yeah. It took her a while to have that eagle

Amber Rasmussen - Host: that's really cool. Dang it. I wish you would've 

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: You're

in such shock when you

see it, you don't have time to

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Oh my gosh. 

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: sometimes when I'm in one of those moments where I'm upset or really sad and thinking about her and just like I miss her so much, I [00:31:00] literally hear in my mind, not like by my ear, but like I hear her say to me, mom, stop.

I'm fine. Like she doesn't like when I get real sad, she wants me to pick myself up and going. 'cause she was a very much you have to live life. She

said when

she was here, she said. I'm not afraid to die.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: her say those words out of her mouth, she wants all of us to live like that.

Um, I do, I hear her kind of yell at me like, stop.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah. Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: She's I'm fine.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: I think it's just so cool.

'cause a lot of people, um, they go through tragedy, but it's a lot, right? It's a lot to start a foundation to change your career path. So this obviously is really something passionate that, that you, um, feel and, and it's so cool to see.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: I just, I felt this overpowering sense of this need to do something. Um, I called the parents.

I said, let's do it. And they were like, okay.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: So, yeah,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: that meant at the

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: time. And when

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: she said it, I'm like, I 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: like, okay. [00:32:00] But I'm like. would regret it if I said I would regret it more, saying no at that point in

_1_03-09-2026_100832: So  

Amber Rasmussen - Host: So you're doing exactly what she did and teaching herself how to be the YouTuber 

The same with you. It's almost like a parallel, like we're just gonna do it and we'll figure it out as we go. 

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: a learning

experience, that's for sure.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: so what do you do at the Gabby Petito Foundation? What are the, is there like main buckets of educational? I know you guys tour and speak and all that stuff as well.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: one of, Tara and my, and myself, our passion is really education and we're trying to build out an education program for all the schools. We go and speak to students now, but that's not sustainable. That's not something that we can do, all over the country for forever. So we're trying to build out a program that schools can take and use, and we want it to be completely free.

We don't want schools  to have any roadblocks and be able to teach the this. To students so that they can keep themselves safe. No healthy boundaries, um, know what healthy relationships look like, even with friends. we try to teach them

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: all the things [00:33:00] that we wish that Gabby had learned.

All the things that we wish we had learned, when we were kids. societ has this bias, this very gender rolled bias. And are not really teaching our kids that  it's okay to say no, and it's not okay for someone to treat you, uh, poorly. And, with that age, it's, as middle schoolers, it's friendships, right?

It starts there. They're being controlled by friends, awe let them know. And I, I ask them to raise their hands if, if they've had any experiences like what we talk about. And they do

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: They, They're experiencing this at a very young age. So important for schools to bring this in. they may not be learning at home and most likely they're not. they're not learning it on social media, that's for sure. um, that's our passion and that's what we're working on. And my husband, Jim, has a first responder training program. him and I met, we were EMTs and we never had domestic violence training, was something that we thought is necessary and that he's been traveling the country, teaching first [00:34:00] responders, uh,  hospital ER staff, 9 1 1 operators, uh, people that just need to know the dynamics when you come into contact with a survivor.

So when they do go to court, there's a paper trail, like everybody's been on the same page. it's really important for them to understand why, uh, survivors behave the way they do, why they might not want to leave the situation. Just understanding the brain chemistry and the trauma that comes along with it. 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom:  we've also changed a couple laws. Um, so we are um, stand behind the lethality assessment for law enforcement to be able to ask a series of questions. We do believe if, a lethality assessment was done, when Gabby and Brian were stopped in Moab,

that

that could have saved her life.  it's a series of 12 questions. We've passed it here in Florida. Uh, we're working on New York right now. Um, we helped, I guess, advocate for it for the state of Utah when that one got passed as well. I think a couple other states [00:35:00] already do take it on. But not all. So we do like to try to get that and change and unfortunately It's you gotta change it with every state.

You can't, it, with can't make make a national bill. It's

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: and

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: a

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: very,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: very long time. and

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: a

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: very,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: very

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: it's very

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: tedious.

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: So,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: uh,

tara-petito_1_03-09-2026_130832: you know,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: that's one thing. we're working on something else right now. it's a big thing. It's with, uh,

it's,

it's a, uh, CVTR, which is the committee

Amber Rasmussen - Host: oh,

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: I

Amber Rasmussen - Host: okay.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: this up. 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom:  hopefully we can pilot the program in Alaska first  because they do have some large grants that they are giving right now. Um, So it's got a couple different, uh, steps that we will have to take.

So the first step would be, getting, uh, what's called a hero QR

code.

So you get services and resources to a victim, like sight on scene, through a clandestine app,

Amber Rasmussen - Host: That's amazing.

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: their victims won't know what it is.

 um, so that would be the first step. And thenwe are going across the country already, you know, working with first responders, um,

well

Jim is right now, so we [00:36:00] can get it through the systems that way also. then there's the other part of it where it's more, um, stalker aware. So victims unfortunately, you know, uh, we need to get with the times because, uh, abusers have financial control. So they're able to afford these, things where, especially as one of them istalk aware

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: We

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: yes.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: um, already has a lot of the systems built.

we just need to really. Blow it up and, um, expand it and make it well known that we are coming, we're coming to change things. We're not here to, um,  continue. 'cause we're doing the same thing over and over again. Um, things aren't changing. The FBI's new report was just put out. There has been an increase, a significant increase in domestic violence homicides since 2020.

So there's a problem and we need to try and fix it and nothing's gonna be perfect, but the more tools that we can create

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: survivors, the more lives that will be saved.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Yeah. Oh [00:37:00] my gosh, you guys, there's so much stuff. I applaud everything you're doing 'cause you're attacking it from so many different angles.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: we're Yes. search we do. Yeah.

And, uh, it's

 

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: We've done searches before.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: teamed

Tara - Gabby Petito's Step-Mom: it's our first one that we're organ help, uh, organize.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: our partner Light the Way, who's our missing persons advocate and. gonna search for Alyssa Turn, who's been missing for 25 years out of Arizona. And they've never done a search for her 'cause she was labeled a runaway.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: Oh

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: we're hoping to, find something.

we just wanna give the family some hope. Again, it's all about hope and you never know.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: yeah.

Niki - Gabby Petito's Mom: And yeah, so that's gonna be our first search, but we work directly with families that have had a loved one missing.

Amber Rasmussen - Host: So you've done a lot in four and a half years. So incredible.

Speaker 2: Thank you for joining us for this special episode of Next Realm Beautiful Stories From Beyond. A heartfelt thank you to Nikki Schmidt and Tara Petito for sharing their experiences and the meaningful [00:38:00] signs that they believe Gabby continues to send them from beyond. Their courage, love, and commitment to keeping Gabby's memory alive are truly inspiring.

To learn more about the important work being done in Gabby's honor, please visit the Gabby Petito Foundation and consider making a donation. Your support helps further their mission of protecting victims of domestic violence and supporting families facing unimaginable loss. And if you have a story of a sign, visitation, dream, or connection from a loved one who has passed, I'd love to hear from you.

Please email me at nextrealmpodcast@gmail.com. Your story may be featured in a future episode of Next Realm. Until next time, keep your heart open, pay attention to the signs, and remember, love doesn't end when life does