The father-of-three wrote a heartfelt open letter to the Sun on Sunday where he described how the couple’s three children picked the music for their mum’s funeral.
He wrote: “After Rebecca died we held a service on a lovely sunny day which was arranged to perfection. Rebecca planned her own funeral, while the kids picked the music. She wanted it to be a celebration of her life, rather than a morbid occasion and it went just the way she would have liked. She got the send-off she deserved and it really did her proud.”
The 36-year-old went on to write that Rebecca wanted to keep things as normal as possible for her children, nine-year-old Lorenz, Tate who is six and Tia, four, and continued to bring them to school herself throughout her illness: “Rebecca was an incredibly brave and private person who didn't want anything about her illness to appear in the media while she was fighting for her life."
He added: "It has been the most difficult period of my life, what with managing the emotions of our three children and watching such a great woman as my wife die without being able to do anything about it. As footballers, we often talk about missing important games through injury as if it was the end of the world. Believe me, it isn't when compared to your wife and mother of your children dying of cancer at the age of 34."
"The day it was announced that Rebecca had died, we were overwhelmed by messages of support. To hear the fans at Old Trafford and West Ham singing for us and seeing Steven Gerrard hand flowers to my team mate Joey Barton was special. The kids saw it all and were telling me: "Look dad, have you seen what they are doing for mum?"'
The couple married in 2009 and Rio had hoped that he would have a few more years left with his 34-year-old wife. Sadly, Rebecca died just five weeks after she was diagnosed.
Our thoughts are with the family at this incredibly difficult time.
