Jacqueline Siegel and her late husband, Westgate Resorts founder David Siegel, dedicated their lives to combating the nation’s drug abuse epidemic after their daughter, Victoria, died of an overdose at age 18 in 2015.
Now, Siegel is expanding her efforts with a new initiative, Angel Army, despite the loss of her husband earlier this year — and the loss of her sister from drug use on the same day.
“I feel that this has been making me more ambitious…[and increased] the strength in me to fight even harder for families,” she said. “Because I’m done with these deaths from drugs. I really am.”
Siegel may be best known nationally for the 2012 documentary, “The Queen of Versailles,” which followed Siegel, David and their family as they sought to build a 90,000-square-foot mansion called Versailles House, on Kirkstone Lane near Windermere.
The couple, one of the wealthiest in Central Florida, created the Victoria’s Voice Foundation following their daughter’s death to honor her memory and raise drug awareness and abuse prevention. The 10th anniversary of Victoria’s death was in June.
“I couldn’t bring my daughter back to life, but, but I can save other people’s lives,” Siegel said of why she and her husband made Victoria’s Voice.
But when David passed away in April, Siegel’s sister Jessica Mallery, who was very close to David and already struggled with depression, decided to use cocaine to boost her mood. She was found by their mother, but it was too late, Siegel said.
Although she was officially pronounced dead days later, after having been put on life support so her organs could be donated, Siegel feels like she lost her husband and sister in the same day. She was 43 years old.
“[I thought] I was going to have more time to focus with my sister in Victoria’s Voice, and I was going to bring her, because she was good for so long, as a success story,” she said. “For this to happen was just a huge, huge blow to the family. It’s been very difficult.”
But Siegel said she is harnessing her grief the same way she did when her daughter passed away — by turning that pain into passion and purpose.
Angel Army, Siegel’s new initiative to combat the drug epidemic, is a partnership between Victoria’s Voice, Fentanyl Fathers, a nonprofit lead by grieving parents who have lost children to drugs, and EricsHouse, which counsels people who have lost loved ones to substance abuse or suicide. It was launched in July.
The initiative aims to provide support and counseling for grieving parents; educate the public about drugs, mental illness and how to recognize warning signs and intervene early; arrange speaking events to reach both children and adults, including at schools, churches and other community spaces; and push for lifesaving policy reforms and stricter regulations on illicit substances, according to its website.
The initiative is being supported by a $2 million pledge from Chris Delgado, a local businessman who leads Goliath Ventures, a blockchain firm with its headquarters in downtown Orlando. Delgado plans to disburse the $2 million by the end of 2025.
Delgado, who is involved in multiple philanthropic causes in the Orlando community, says he was motivated to support Angel Army by seeing his own uncle struggle from drug addiction.
“He, fortunately, has been a recovering addict and hasn’t passed away,” Delgado said. “But it definitely struck me as a kid growing up, watching someone so talented get ruined by a choice of doing drugs. So it’s always had a special place in my heart.”
Sunday is International Overdose Awareness Day. Siegel wants other families who lost loved ones to drugs to know they are not alone.
“This is a club that we never asked to be in, but we’re here for a reason,” she said.
