Heidi Powell is honoring her mother on her 61st birthday with an emotional tribute about the support she has received since the death of Dave Hollis.
On March 12, the fitness instructor uploaded an Instagram slideshow of photos that highlighted her strong bond with her mother.
In the first picture, the two sweetly embraced while dressed in throwback 1980s workout gear. Other snaps showed the two spending time with Powell’s four children, celebrating the holidays and posing for selfies in the car.
“Happiest Birthday to the woman who makes turning 61 a thing to look forward to!” Powell began in the caption before including queen and cake emoji. “Oh Mama…6 decades down + still somehow looking the age of your 20 yrs younger kids.”
She praised her mom for being a real-life version of Brad Pitt’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” character, who ages in reverse, and called the matriarch a “true queen.”
“What’s most interesting about my mama is that that the times in her life she’s appeared the most radiant are the times immediately following tragedy or heartbreak. And boy, she’s been through it,” Powell continued.
Powell shared that her father, whom she referred to as “Super Dave,” died 12 years ago. Despite losing her soulmate and going through other challenging times, Powell said her mom was still able to be grateful.
“Her ability to recognize a toxic state of mind (living in the past), and then consciously choose to see the good in WHAT WAS, learn the hard lessons of WHAT WASN’T, and move forward w/ so much dignity, love and light is a thing I admire so much about this woman,” the proud daughter wrote.
The 40-year-old fitness enthusiast then listed a few of the lessons her mother taught her, including being kind, remembering to laugh and loving her family “deeply, and unconditionally always and forever.”
Powell added, “And of course, thank you, Mama, for being two of the strongest hands carrying me through this last month. I couldn’t have made it to where I am without you.”
“You will forever be the pinnacle; the peak; the tip of the spear; the queen I someday aspire to become,” she gushed at the end of the post. “Love you.”
The fitness trainer has been open on social media about leaning on her family and faith following the death of Davis Hollis on Feb. 11 at the age of 47.
Hollis and Powell began dating after he separated from ex-wife and author Rachel Hollis in 2020, but their relationship status at the time of his death is unconfirmed.
On Feb. 14, the mother of four uploaded a series of photos to Instagram of sweet moments the couple shared during their relationship. She wrote about mourning his death in the caption.
“This isn’t the way it was supposed to end,” she said. “I’m heartbroken and totally devastated. I’m sick. My kids miss you so much. Our world is rocked. I will never be the same.”
A few days later, Powell shared a picture of what appeared to be a daily devotion on her Instagram story.
“Trust and thankfulness will get you safely through this day,” the message said. “Trust protects you from worrying and obsessing. Thankfulness keeps you from criticizing and complaining: those ‘sister sins’ that so easily entangle you.”
The devotional also included Bible verses from Psalm, Colossians and 1 Peter.
Hollis, an author and former Disney executive, shared four children — Jackson, Sawyer, Ford and Noah— with his ex-wife. His cause of death has not yet been determined, but a family representative confirmed to TODAY.com last month that Hollis was recently hospitalized for heart-related health issues before dying at home in Austin, Texas.