Titan Sub Widow Christine Dawood Says Her Husband and Son’s Story Is ‘Much More than Their Deaths’

Some tragedies make headlines around the world, but the people at the heart of them often get lost in the noise. One mother is determined to change that.

Christine Dawood, the wife of philanthropist and businessman Shahzada Dawood, is opening up three years after her husband died aboard the OceanGate Titan submersible in June 2023.

Shahzada was in the vessel alongside his son, Suleman, and three other passengers when it imploded less than 1,000 meters from the wreck of the Titanic, their intended destination.

Christine believes her husband and son were reduced to media fodder in the wake of the tragedy, and she wants their full story told.

That's exactly what she set out to do when she wrote a memoir documenting the agonizing, hour-by-hour ordeal she and her daughter, Alina, lived through three years ago.

Mother and daughter unknowingly bore witness to the Titan's ill-fated final descent into the Atlantic Ocean. However, "Ninety-Six Hours" is about more than grief for what was lost. "The book is a love story, a love letter almost," Christine tells People. "There is more to them than the headlines."

The couple's love story started in 2000, when Christine, who grew up in the "picture-perfect" mountains of Bavaria, crossed paths with the heir to a Pakistani conglomerate as fellow students at Reutlingen University in Germany.

"I fell in love with him even though I only understood half of what he said," she says, laughing. "I walked around with my dictionary, and we started to talk."

The couple tied the knot two years later, much to the dismay of both sets of parents. "Our parents were like, 'What are you doing?' But both sets came around," Christine says. They welcomed Suleman in 2004 and later settled in England. Alina completed their family in 2006.

Christine described Suleman as "kind and curious," much like his father. In 2012, the family's fascination with the Titanic led them to an exhibition in Singapore. "It made a huge impression on [Suleman]," Christine says.

So when they learned of OceanGate's offer to see the ship in person, they leapt at the chance. Christine was reassured by the presence of renowned expert P.H. Nargeolet, known as "Mr. Titanic," and insists there were no warning signs of the company's failings.

She had originally planned to be on the Titan but gave up her seat to her son, who brought along a Rubik's Cube he hoped to solve at the bottom of the ocean.

For the next four days, Christine was torn between dread and hope at the thought that they might still be alive, stranded in pitch-black depths with 96 hours of oxygen. "That was the hardest part — are they panicking, are they scared?" she recalls.

News outlets from across the globe swarmed almost instantly, with much of the coverage fixating on the passengers' wealth and status. "Some people think that if you have money, you don't have any problems or you're not allowed to feel or grieve," Christine reflects, "but I stayed away from that."

When confirmation finally came that the submersible had imploded, Christine says she there was some relief. "I was just grateful they didn't suffer," she shares. "They were happy one moment, and the next they were gone."

As the months passed, Christine took long walks where she recorded her thoughts, and she began journaling. Those cathartic habits ultimately laid the groundwork for her book.

She also revealed a new goal: establishing a grief and trauma center in the U.K. called Pathway of Light, with clients supported by a foundation in Shahzada's and Suleman's names.