Rio Ferdinand says turning to boxing helped him deal with the grief he felt after his wife Rebecca’s untimely death from cancer.

 

The professional footballer was left a single dad with three young children when Rebecca died two years ago.

 

The bereaved dad was drinking heavily and had suicidal feelings as he struggled to look after his children, Lorenz, ten, Tate, seven, and Tia, five.

 

Rio recently announced that he’d taken up boxing and is hoping to become a professional, according to The Mirror.

 

Although the sudden change of career shocked many, he admitted it was a way of “channelling his aggression” and coping with the grief he still feels following Rebecca’s death.

 

 

In a cruel twist of fate, Rio also lost his mother, Janice St Fort to breast cancer in July of this year.

 

Speaking about the bereavement process, the dad-of-three said:  “With grief, you need to have a focus in life. This is a focus.

 

“This is me having something to channel aggression and the different emotions that have arisen through the events of the last few years”.

 

Reflecting on his new-found love of boxing, Rio remarked: “Everyone said, ‘It’s a big step, you’re mad, are you crazy?’ But my friends and family were like, ‘If you fancy it, then why not?’ ”

 

 

Flashback Friday in action... Boat trip with my two boys back in 2015!#flashbackfriday #fbf

A post shared by Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) on

 

He admitted he’s missed the thrill of competitive sports since retiring from football.

 

He said: “I thrived playing under pressure. I don’t necessarily miss playing football, but I miss the ­adrenaline, the competing day to day, the mental and physical warfare that goes on in your head”.

 

“I’m not coming into this lightly. The first thing the kids said was, ‘You better not lose, Dad’.

 

"This is an opportunity to ­influence my kids, to show you need to have focus and discipline,” he added.

 

During the filming of Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad for BBC1, Rio admitted he was worried about how the bereavement was affecting his kids, particularly his eldest son Lorenz. 

 

 

"I get nothing out of the two boys,” he told a therapist while speaking about his children's feelings. 

 

However, introducing a "memory jar" has helped his kids cope with their feelings. This is a large bottle which the kids fill memories of their mum. 

 

Tia has been filling the memory jar with drawings of her mum, saying: “I like doing this. I’m going to do it every day.”

 

Rio was delighted when young Lorenz decided to write down his mum's favourite Ed Sheeran songs and place them in the jar. 

 

 We think Rio is doing a great job – we wish him all the best with his new career and future aspirations.

 

 

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