The death of his first daughter just five hours after her birth was ‘the hardest thing’ AFL star Gary Rohan has ever lived through.
He made the definitive statement while paying tribute to little Willow, who suffered a fatal defect in the womb, on what would have been her third birthday.
Days earlier, his estranged wife Amie said the hardest days of her life were following their shock separation last year.
The couple were childhood sweethearts and had welcomed their second daughter, Sadie Rose, in March 2020, just three months earlier.
‘The days after my marriage breakdown were some of the hardest days of my life, harder than when we lost Willow,’ Amie told the Move Your Mind podcast.
Amie Rohan has revealed the heartache from splitting with her AFL husband Gary Rohan was worse than the pain of losing her baby daughter Willow just five hours after birth. (Pictured: The couple with daughter Sadie)
Dressed in a fluffy pink dressing gown and holding her mum’s hand, Bella smiled for a selfie with Amie as she reflected on how fast the past three years have gone
‘But I still got out of bed every day and faced whatever the day brought.’
The Geelong Cats forward and his childhood sweetheart Amie welcomed twins Bella and Willow three years ago – but Willow died hours later.
Amie admits she doesn’t think she will ever truly recover from losing her daughter, but said the heartache that followed her shock split was even harder to bare.
On Monday, Rohan broke his silence for the first time since the comments were made to wish Willow’s twin sister Bella happy birthday and pay tribute to his late daughter.
‘Willow, my beautiful angel. Saying hello and then goodbye to you all in five hours this time three years ago was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,’ he said.
The Geelong Cats forward and his childhood sweetheart Amie welcomed twins Bella and Willow three years ago – but Willow died hours later. They both shared separate tributes to their girls on their 3rd birthday
On Monday, Rohan broke his silence for the first time since the comments were made to wish Willow’s twin sister Bella happy birthday and pay tribute to his late daughter
‘Every day I miss you, and you are always in my thoughts. I love you so much.’
The former couple share two daughters together, Bella and one-year-old Sadie, but lost their baby Willow in 2018 when Ms Rohan gave birth to twins.
Willow had suffered a fatal neural tube defect and couldn’t be saved, while her sister survived after spending three weeks in intensive care.
Rohan and his former WAG separately wished Bella a happy birthday while also reflecting on their loss.
‘Bella my craziest, adventurous, joyful, stubborn and most beautiful little girl… And a little monster at times, [it] feels like yesterday I was holding you in my arms with your little hand wrapped around my finger,’ Rohan wrote alongside pictures of he and Bella over the years.
‘Now you’re running around and speaking back to me. You truly are going up so fast.’
Rohan shared two separate tributes to Bella and Willow on their birthdays (pictured above)
‘The days after my marriage breakdown were some of the hardest days of my life, harder than when we lost Willow,’ Ms Rohan said (pictured with daughters Sadie and Bella)
!['Bella my craziest, adventurous, joyful, stubborn and most beautiful little girl... And a little monster at times, [it] feels like yesterday I was holding you in my arms with your little hand wrapped around my finger,' Rohan wrote alongside pictures of he and Bella over the years](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/04/12/02/41632396-9460345-image-a-35_1618190187797.jpg)
‘Bella my craziest, adventurous, joyful, stubborn and most beautiful little girl… And a little monster at times, [it] feels like yesterday I was holding you in my arms with your little hand wrapped around my finger,’ Rohan wrote alongside pictures of he and Bella over the years
Bella woke up with her mum for her special day on Monday, and Amie was up late on Sunday decorating the home in pink streamers and balloons.
Dressed in a fluffy pink dressing gown and holding her mum’s hand, Bella smiled for a selfie with Amie as she reflected on how fast the past three years have gone.
In another photo three hours later, Amie revealed she’d been crying while penning her daughter a birthday card.
She hasn’t acknowledged the comments she made about her tough split with her AFL star beau just months after their youngest daughter Sadie was born in March 2020.
The AFL star is now believed to be dating Madi Bennett, a physiotherapist who briefly worked for the Geelong Cats.
Rohan said losing Willow was the hardest thing he’s ever done days after Amie said the days after their split were the hardest days of her life
On Easter Saturday Gary Rohan shared this photo of himself with an unknown woman and his children while celebrating the first birthday of his youngest daughter Sadie Rose
Rohan and his former WAG separately wished Bella a happy birthday while also reflecting on their loss
Amie’s comments comparing her split to losing Willow shocked some, who thought there could be ‘nothing worse than losing a child’.
‘Not sure I’d feel the same,’ one person said after hearing of her comparison. ‘Nothing worse than losing a child.’
But the mother-of-two’s honesty struck a chord with many of her fans, who commended her for her strength and resolve to be the best mum for her two girls during such a difficult time.
‘Amie is such a class act, her ex doesn’t deserve her graciousness,’ one fan said.
‘Hang in there darlin’ you are a beautiful woman and doing your best for your girls through this sadness. A decent bloke will come along. You deserve it,’ Zanni from Fremantle in Western Australia said.
Rohan shared a moving tribute to Willow and wished his oldest daughter, Bella, a happy third birthday. This was one of the pictures used in the tribute
The mother-of-two split with her high school sweetheart and husband of four years in the middle of last year
Over: Gary Rohan and wife Amie wed in 2016, but are understood to have split in late July 2020 when the 29-year-old star forward joined the AFL’s Gold Coast coronavirus hub
Amie has remained stoic throughout the entire separation, even after her ex shared photos with a mystery woman at their daughter Sadie’s first birthday on Easter Saturday.
He didn’t caption the photo nor did he identify the woman pictured.
One day later on Easter Sunday, Amie appeared unfazed by the speculation over her ex and shared a photo with her two daughters, captioned: Happy Easter. From my little bunnies & me’.
At the time the couple lost their daughter Willow, Amie said her partner had been her ‘rock’.
Amie was just 12 weeks through her first pregnancy when she first learned one of her babies would not survive.
‘Gary was my rock at the time and the support network got us through,’ she said.
At the time the couple lost their daughter Willow, Ms Rohan said her partner had been her ‘rock’
Amie revealed writing Bella’s birthday card the night before her big day made her emotional as she shared this teary-eyed picture
Speaking to the podcast, the mother said she was still healing from the traumas she had experienced.
‘My marriage broke down midway through last year and I spoke to one of my close girlfriends …. and I said being dealt a trauma on top of a trauma that I thought I had completely healed from is something that I have really struggled with,’ she said.
‘And she turned around and said, ”Amie, you have lost a child. You are never, ever going to completely heal from that, ever,” and when she said that to me I was like, ”I never truly will”,’.
‘But as long as I am getting up every day, I am acknowledging how I am feeling, I am seeking the help, which I have, and I am continually checking in with the people to help me be the better version of me every day; that is the healing, isn’t it.’
The former couple share two daughters together but lost their baby Willow in 2018 when Ms Rohan gave birth to twins
On Easter Sunday, Ms Rohan appeared unfazed by the speculation over her ex and shared a photo with her two daughters, captioned: ‘Happy Easter. From my little bunnies & me’
