Aaron Ramsdale opens up on his wife having miscarriage back in January and hails Mikel Arteta’s support at what has been a tough time.
The Arsenal and England goalkeeper posted for the first time that his wife Georgina sadly lost the baby on a six-hour flight back to the UK.
Georgina sadly suffered a miscarriage during her first pregnancy with Ramsdale set to play just three days later for Arsenal.
This is me and my family’s story. @PlayersTribune https://t.co/owL9qr9Cqu
— Aaron (@AaronRamsdale98) August 3, 2023
‘There are things that go on in our lives that the public has no idea about, and the past year has been an emotional rollercoaster for me and my family,’ he said in an open letter to the Players’ Tribune.
‘There’s really no way that I can describe the pain of that six-hour flight back to London, even now.
‘I just want people out there to know that they’re not alone if they’re going through it themselves.’
He goes on to say: ‘When we got back, I didn’t tell many people what happened. Only my family, my team-mates, and of course Mikel [Arteta]. He was fantastic about everything. Even in the middle of the title race, with so much pressure on the club, he asked me if I needed some time off to deal with everything. Mikel went above and beyond to make sure me and my family were OK.’
Ramsdale had to decided whether he would go on to play just three days later against Tottenham, and ended up playing as it was ‘the only way’ he could get his mind of the devastating loss of their baby.
‘Football has always been my escape,’ he said. ‘I told the manager I wanted to play.
‘It couldn’t have been a better night. We won 2–0 under the floodlights, and our away fans were going absolutely ballistic. If you watch the match back, you can see me beaming at the final kick of the ball. I went to get my water bottle behind the goal, and never in a million years would I ever think that I’d get kicked in the back by a Tottenham fan.’
Ramsdale played the full 90 minutes with his side winning 2-0 with an own-goal from Hugo Lloris and Martin Odegaard scoring bagged all three points.
‘I’ve had some very spicy banter with fans all over the English leagues. I’ve been called everything you can imagine. But it’s never crossed the line like that. I remember when I got back to the dressing room, I couldn’t even celebrate because I got pulled out to give a police statement.
‘You know, I almost felt bad for the bloke who had done it, because I thought to myself: If he only knew me as a person, and what I’m actually going through right now, there’s no way that he would’ve done that. If we bumped into each other one day and got chatting about football, we’d probably be mates.
‘That’s a part of why I wanted to write this article and to share me and my family’s story for the first time. The last few years especially, you see so much negativity and toxicity in football. Whether it’s on social media or at the grounds, it feels like a lot of people have lost all perspective. ‘
As Aaron Ramsdale opens up on his wife having miscarriage and hails Mikel Arteta’s support, here are some helplines if you have been affected…
Baby loss
The Lullaby Trust (formerly FSID the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death)
Bereavement Support: 0808 802 6868
The UK’s leading baby charity working to prevent sudden deaths and promote health. Lullaby funds research, supports bereaved families and promotes safe baby care advice, including helpline for bereaved parents and their families, friends, neighbours and anyone else who has experienced the sudden death of a baby.
Sands (Stillbirth and neonatal death charity)
Helpline: 0808 164 3332
Sands provide support for bereaved parents and their families when their baby dies, before, during or soon after birth as well as information and support for healthcare professionals.
The Miscarriage Association
Helpline: 01924 200 799
www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk
We know that miscarriage can be a very unhappy, frightening and lonely experience. If you have been affected by the loss of a baby in pregnancy, whether recently or long ago, we hope that you will find here support, information and comfort.
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