Rio Ferdinand has given a candid interview about the passing of his wife at just 34 years old.
Speaking to The Times Magazine the footballer said that at his lowest he contemplated suicide and described the pain of having to tell his children that their mother had died. The interview comes just days ahead of a BBC documentary entitled Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad.
On telling his children about their mother’s passing ‘Rio said You realise playing football was a f***ing walk in the park compared to telling your kids their mum isn’t coming back. I’ve never had to do something so hard, so emotionally draining and testing’. He added that he found it difficult to connect with his children after the death of his wife because he just felt numb from the pain.
He said that before this experience he could never understand suicide but this made him contemplate the act himself. ‘You sit there and you can understand how people get that low. It’s a lonely dark place. I can easily see why you just slip over that edge.’
He revealed that his wife had died after a short battle with breast cancer in a statement two years ago. The footballer is now rumoured to be dating a reality TV star from the show The Only Way is Essex.