We simply cannot imagine how difficult this must have been…
In a new sneak peek of Cristiano Ronaldo’s upcoming interview with Piers Morgan on Talk TV shared with The Sun on Tuesday, the soccer star opened up about how challenging it was to mourn his and his partner Georgina Rodríguez’s son who died during childbirth in April.
At the time, the couple was expecting twin babies, but sadly, they only returned home with one child, their daughter Bella. While speaking to the talk show host in a preview of a full interview to air on Wednesday and Thursday night, the athlete revealed he and his partner chose to be “upfront” and “honest” with their other children despite how difficult it was.
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The 37-year-old shares daughter Alana Martina, 5, with Georgina and also has son Cristiano Jr., 12, and twins Eva and Mateo, 5, who were born via surrogate in the US. He recalled:
“The kids start[ed] to say, ‘Where’s the other baby, where’s the other baby? … Mom, where is the other baby?’”
Oof. After taking some time to process, the parents decided to be open about the tragedy:
“After one week I [said], ‘Let’s be upfront, and let’s be honest with the kids. Let’s say that, Ángel, which is his name, he go to the Heaven.’”
After the very emotional conversation, the children now “understand” that their baby brother died, the father continued:
“They say, ‘Daddy I did this for Ángel,’ and they point to the sky. Which I like the most because he’s part of their lives. I am not gonna lie to my kids, I say the truth, which was a difficult process.”
It must have been so heartbreaking. The Manchester United forward went on to call that time the “worst moment” in his life since his father’s 2005 death. It was especially tough since they were “happy and sad in the same moment,” he continued:
“We had quite difficult moments because we don’t understand why it happened to us.”
It was especially hard to fathom the loss of one child and the birth of another at the same time, he reflected:
“We had the difficult moments but we said, ‘listen, we have more kids, we have one that was born, Bella that we have to be happy too.’ It’s crazy. I tried to explain sometimes to my family and even my close friends. I say, I never felt to be happy and sad in the same moment. I never felt [it]. It is hard to explain. So difficult. It’s, you don’t know if you [should] cry, you don’t know if you [should] smile because it’s something that you don’t know how to react [to]. You don’t know what to do, to be honest. And, of course, I remember very well that I looked like — I don’t know the word to define what I felt in that moment. But it’s crazy feelings, it’s crazy emotional. But as I told you before, I have to hold that we had at least Bella. One died and one survived, but it was, it’s difficult to explain.”
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While they have been deeply grieving their loss, Cristiano says this has brought him closer to his children and Georgina, whom he met in Madrid in 2016. He expressed:
“In some way, I became more of a father, more friendly with them; they become more close to their daddy, and me with Georgina as well.”
Piers acknowledged how a loss like this can sometimes “break relationships,” but the Portuguese player insisted he and his family have only grown stronger as they heal from the devastation:
“In my case it was better. I became more friendly with Gio [Georgina]. I was of course a friend but I feel more love for her and for my kids and I start to see life with a different perspective. It was the most difficult moments, the last six months, since my dad died.”
To honor his late family members, Ronaldo, who is Catholic, set up a church in his basement where he keeps their ashes. He revealed:
“His ashes are with me, like my Daddy, they are here in the house. It is something that I want to hold for the rest of my life and not throw to the ocean or to the sea. I keep with me. They are next to my dad. I have a small church downstairs, a chapel, and I keep my daddy and my son there.”
When asked if he talks to them, he responded:
“Yes, I do… All the time and they are on my side. You know they help me to be a better man, to be a better person, to be a better father. And it’s something that I am really proud of… the message that they send me, especially my son.”
Whoa… Our hearts go out to the whole family as they continue to process and heal. It’s so, so emotional to lose a child and sibling. To hear more from Cristiano, watch the heartbreaking preview (below).
The full interview, Piers Morgan Uncensored: 90 Minutes with Ronaldo, promises to tackle many more heavy subjects for the celeb, including his complicated relationship with his soccer club. His Man United teaser has already blown up online, we can only imagine the reaction to the full segment. This comes several months after a judge dismissed a rape lawsuit filed against the star, as well. Thoughts? Let us know (below).
[Image via Cristiano Ronaldo/Instagram & Talk TV/YouTube]