Emptiness and identity pathology are two understudied clinical features of borderline personality disorder that overlap, commonly co-occur, and predict suicidal ideation (SI). We aimed to test theory-informed risk pathways in which identity pathology was indirectly associated with SI via emptiness, moderated by impulsivity and emotion dysregulation. Methods: Participants (N = 251) completed online questionnaires assessing constructs of interest, including SI 2-months later. Results: Identity pathology was indirectly associated with future SI via emptiness, even after controlling for baseline SI (? = 0.15, SE = 0.05, Bootstrap 95% CI = [0.06, 0.24]). We found a two-way interaction between emptiness and two moderators predicting SI: poor use of emotion regulation strategies (? = 0.01, SE = 0.001, p < .001) and lack of premeditation (? = 0.06, SE = 0.28, p = .03). Conclusion: Those who reported greater identity pathology were more likely to experience emptiness, and this in turn was associated with future SI. Participants who felt empty were likely to experience SI when they also reported poor use of emotion regulation strategies and tendencies to act without considering the consequences. Our findings provide preliminary support for an untested risk pathway for SI and underscore the need to further study these important high-risk experiences.