Rio Ferdinand has spoken out about losing his mum to breast cancer, the same disease that took the life of his beloved wife and mum to his three children, Rebecca.
The former footballer has shared how traumatic the experience was in his book, Thinking Out Loud: Love, Grief and Being Mum and Dad.
Rio's mum had beaten breast cancer before but found out the disease had returned in June 2016. She was admitted to hospital shortly after her doctors discovered that the disease was back.
His mum, Janice St Forth, died at the age of 58, in July 2016. Rio admitted that his mum had been a huge support to him after he lost his wife Rebecca to breast cancer the year before.
Janice was his rock, and he says he wouldn’t have been able to cope with the heartache of losing his wife if it wasn’t for his beloved mum.
Rio said, “I’m not proud to admit that, for the first few days, I could not bring myself to visit Mum in hospital.”
The entire situation was painfully familiar to Rio, who lost his 38-year-old wife in 2015. He said he couldn’t handle “another oncology ward and breathing in that same antiseptic smell”.
He revealed that his mum was the only reason he kept living after losing Rebecca, and he couldn’t cope with the fact that he’d have to continue on in life without her.
He said, “All I could hear were my frantic pleas for a divine reprieve. 'Please, no, not my mum. Anyone but Mum.'"
Rio spoke fondly about his late mum, describing her as the heart of their family. She held everything together, “Mum has supported us all through many difficult times, always with a smile on her face.”
Rio recently spoke about how his wife wanted him to move on after her death. She hoped her husband would find love again, even though the thought of Rio with someone who wasn’t her, was devastating.
Rebecca’s best friend encouraged Rio to act on the feelings he had developed for former The Only Way Is Essex star, Kate Wright.
The pair have been dating since the January of this year, but are keeping a low profile.
Rio’s main priority is taking care of his three children. Kate understands how valuable family is to the athlete and has taken a step back from her life in the spotlight to help her partner.
