Kai Trump cried on camera the night before moving to college, saying the approaching goodbye to her family and friends had left her “struggling.” The tears were about leaving home, not second thoughts about the University of Miami.
The 19-year-old included the emotional moment in an Aug. 29 YouTube vlog documenting the days around her move and the beginning of her freshman year. “I’ve been, like, literally sobbing,” Kai told viewers, adding that she does not normally consider herself particularly emotional.
“I think knowing I have to say goodbye to everyone tonight, it, like, really, really sucks,” she said. Kai acknowledged that thinking about the separation was making her sad, but made the other half of her reaction equally clear: “I’m excited. It’s just, like, I’m emotional.”
By the end of the vlog, the goodbye was behind her. Kai had moved into her apartment, started classes and practiced with the University of Miami women’s golf team, shifting the video from an emotional last night at home into the beginning of the college life she had spent years preparing for.
Kai Said Crying That Much Felt ‘Really Weird’
Kai recorded the emotional portion of the full vlog while sitting in a car. She said she had cried that intensely only a few times before and described the experience as “really weird” for someone who does not usually see herself as especially emotional.
She was preparing to say goodbye to most of the people around her that night, although her mother, Vanessa Trump, would still be with her the following day. “I’m just struggling right now, just, like, thinking about it,” Kai said.
Kai repeatedly paired the emotion with excitement over what came next, and the rest of the vlog followed her through the transition. Before starting school, Kai had publicly said she was nervous about leaving her close-knit family for the first time even though Miami would keep her relatively close to home.
Four Target Carts Came Before Move-In Day
Kai had already shown viewers a much less sentimental part of leaving home: buying enough apartment supplies to fill four Target carts. She and Vanessa shopped for toiletries, kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies and other essentials in an earlier move-in video.
Vanessa said she had already made several trips to the apartment herself to clean and wait for deliveries. She also warned that once Kai moved in, her daughter would be responsible for cleaning her own bathrooms.
Kai proposed a different arrangement. She joked that she would simply call her mother downstairs when the bathroom became dirty, prompting Vanessa to tell her she would either learn to clean it or live with the mess.
The shopping itself began to overwhelm Kai before the family reached the register. She admitted that when something starts feeling too large, her instinct is sometimes to avoid it entirely, which was why so much remained unfinished with only three days until the move.
By checkout, the family had filled four carts with home goods. Among the purchases were toiletries and kitchen supplies, including an air fryer, as Kai tried to turn an empty apartment into a place where she could begin living on her own. Vanessa said the apartment is about an hour and a half from her home and predicted that Kai would be back frequently despite officially moving out.
She Started Classes and Joined Miami’s Golf Program
The first-week vlog continued after move-in with classes, meals with friends and practice as Kai began balancing college life with Division I golf.
Miami officially lists Trump as a freshman on its 2026-27 women’s golf roster. The university says she joined the program after competing on Florida junior circuits and helping her high school team win four consecutive district titles.
Kai had verbally committed to Miami in August 2024 before formally signing with the women’s golf program in November 2025. The Hurricanes’ official biography lists multiple strong junior finishes, including runner-up honors at the 2025 Major Championship at Village Golf Course and a second-place finish at the 2024 Martin County Junior Open.
Her arrival at Miami follows an unusual pre-college introduction to professional-level competition. Kai made her LPGA Tour debut through a sponsor exemption at The ANNIKA in November 2025.
She opened with an 83 before improving by eight shots with a second-round 75. Kai missed the cut, but the experience gave her two rounds alongside LPGA professionals months before she officially became a college golfer.
Kai Says Vanessa Is Doing ‘A Lot Better’ After Treatment
Vanessa’s involvement in the apartment preparations came several months after she publicly disclosed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Vanessa announced the diagnosis in May, saying she was working with her medical team on a treatment plan and had already undergone a procedure. She asked for privacy while focusing on her health and recovery.
Kai provided a more recent update during an Aug. 21 NewsNation interview. She said her mother had undergone treatment and surgery and was doing “a lot better,” while acknowledging that the preceding months had been “a little bit of a rocky road.”