Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister Denise admits she was ‘HAPPY’ when she learned that O.J. Simpson was dead – as she shares her relief at ‘no longer having to look over her shoulder’

Nicole Brown Simpson’s sisters have candidly expressed their ‘happiness’ upon hearing that her former husband and suspected murderer OJ Simpson was dead – with her sibling Denise opening up about the relief she felt after hearing of the death. NFL star.

The controversy and conspiracy theories surrounding the 1994 murder of 35-year-old Nicole – and the speculation surrounding OJ’s alleged role in her murder – have haunted her three sisters for the past three decades.

OJ’s presumed guilt in the murder, even after he successfully pleads his innocence in a highly publicized trial, is a matter of pop-cultural lore.

Now, in the wake of the former NFL star’s death in April, the sisters – Denise, 66, Dominique, 59, and Tanya, 54 – have taken to the Today show to talk about their feelings on the matter and about the struggle to keep their sister’s legacy alive.

“I think the whole world knew how I felt about him,” Denise told Today hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.

“I think the whole world knew how I felt about him,” Denise (pictured left with her sisters) told Today anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb about her thoughts on O.J.

‘I was happy that day. When I heard the news, I thought, “Oh my God, finally,” she described her reaction to OJ’s death from cancer at age 76.

“But then it dawned on me, ‘Wait a minute, there’s Sydney and Justin,’” Denise continued, referring to OJ and Nicole’s two adult children, Sydney, 38, and Justin, 35.

“I thought, ‘Wow, OK. I’m happy for myself, I don’t have to look over my shoulder anymore,'” Denise clarified.

‘I wasn’t afraid of him. He was just always there, his presence, they were always talking about him in the media, there were always things going on, but then it was sadness for the children, because now they have no mother or father.

“So yeah, it was hard. It was tough,” Denise added.

For Dominque, meanwhile, it was “very overwhelming,” she admitted.

‘It was very complicated, very confusing and at the same time so sad.

‘I was really emotional. We didn’t really know if it was true when we heard the news, and then we turned on the TV and it was confirmed that he had actually died.”

Dominque also acknowledged the new reality for Sydney and Justin, adding, “I was so sad for the kids.”

Both Sydney and Justin were sleeping upstairs in their home when their mother and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman were stabbed on the property on June 12, 1994.

While he was acquitted at his murder trial in 1995, a civil court later found him liable for the two murders, and he was ordered to pay $33 million – although it is claimed he never actually paid the fine.

After tying the knot in 1985, Nicole and Oj had two children: Sydney, 38, and Justin, 35.

In the aftermath, Denise — who testified about OJ’s routine abuse of her sister during his trial — and Tanya became advocates of domestic violence.

The sister trio has been hard at work promoting the upcoming four-part Lifetime documentary, The life and murder of Nicole Brown Simpsonwhich premieres on June 1.

Hoda noted that much of the public had not realized the “extent of the domestic violence” in OJ and Nicole’s ill-fated relationship.

‘There were so many surprises in the documentary. We thought we knew everything about her and the case, but that really wasn’t the case,” the Today co-host said.

“The extent of the domestic violence, starting on the first date, when she first went out with OJ Simpson, and going through her entire marriage, things that many of you have witnessed,” Hoda continued.

Nicole and OJ married in 1985 after the two started dating in 1977. Nicole eventually filed for divorce in 1992, but OJ continued to harass Nicole after their divorce.

One part of the documentary that Hoda found especially “shocking” goes back to when Nicole was pregnant.

As Hoda summarized, “A friend said OJ told Nicole, ‘I don’t want you to have a vaginal birth, and I don’t want you to breastfeed.’ The control was clearly present there. And people didn’t understand the extent of domestic violence.”

Regarding the timing for the series, which focuses on who Nicole was as a person after her gruesome murder, Denise said, “You know, I tried it about ten years ago… And twenty years didn’t feel right.

‘Then we tried for 25 years. And I said, “No, this just doesn’t feel right.” And then I said, “You know what, 30, I think it’ll be good.”

“And I asked my sisters, and I said, ‘Do you want to do this? Do you want to get together? Do you want to humanize Nicole? And let people know, let the world know who Nicole really was.”

“And everyone agreed that this was the right time.”