Rio Ferdinand has been praised by viewers of the BBC documentary ‘Being Mum And Dad’, which aired on Tuesday night (28 March).
Fans and celebs took to social media to show their support for the former Manchester United player as he opened up about the death of his 34-year-old wife Rebecca Ellison from breast cancer in May 2015.
The documentary explored how to cope with grief and how Rio explained Rebecca’s death to the couple’s three young children, Lorenz, 10, Tate, eight and Tia, five.
Eventually, after speaking to other widowers and health care professionals, the 38-year-old sportsman says he managed to “switch it from dark to bright”. He started a memory jar that acts as a conduit for the kids and himself to talk about Rebecca.
He said: “It kind of opened everything up and it was a beautiful moment just seeing them talk happily and being joyful about their mum rather than it being sad and negative moments.
He also spoke honestly about understanding how people consider suicide after the death of a spouse. But also said that his children helped him to find the will to live.
Rio left viewers touched by his bravery as he opened up about his grief...
Many well-known names also shared their thoughts on Twitter...
‘Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum And Dad’, is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer now.