A father’s heartache: Cristiano Ronaldo announces his newborn son has died
The devoted dad has been struck by tragedy.
By Kate Wagner
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the world’s best and highest paid athletes in the world, plus he’s officially the most followed user on Instagram with over 397 million followers.
But while football fans can’t get enough of Ronaldo’s process on the field, his life outside of sport is equally intriguing.
For seven years, Ronaldo only had one son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.
Then — over just five months in 2017 — his brood blossomed to four, expanding again to six in 2022 before a family tragedy.
Taking to Instagram in October 2021, the football superstar and girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez announced that they were expecting not one but two new additions to the family.
“Delighted to announce we are expecting twins👶🏻👶🏻. Our hearts are full of love – we can’t wait to meet you ❤️🏠#blessed,” Cristiano captioned two photos of himself and Georgina with their ultrasound scan and another of the proud dad with his four eldest kids.
The babies – a boy and a girl – arrived in April 2022, but the football star’s newborn son died shortly after Georgina gave birth.
Sharing the heartbreaking news online, Cristiano wrote: “It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away. It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel.
“Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support.”
The grieving father added: “We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time. Our baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you.”
In October 2021, Cristiano and his girlfriend, Georgina announced they were expecting twins.
While we know Georgina is the mum of his youngest bubs Alana Martina, the other two mothers of his children remain a mystery.
Who is Cristiano Ronaldo Jr’s mum?
Ronaldo’s oldest son is known as Cristianinho, or little Cristiano.
The 11-year-old was born in San Diego in June 2010, while Ronaldo was dating model Irina Shayk.
“It is with great joy and emotion that I inform I have recently become father to a baby boy. As agreed with the baby’s mother, who prefers to have her identity kept confidential, my son will be under my exclusive guardianship,” the sports star explained in a statement back in 2010, just after his team was kicked out of the World Cup.
“People speculate I was with this girl or another, or there was a surrogate mother,” he told chat show host Jonathan Ross.
“I have never told anyone and never will,” he said.
“When Cristiano [Junior] is going to grow up, I am always going to say the truth to him because he deserves it, because he is my son, but I am not going to say because people want me to say.”
Cristianinho has been an omnipresent fixture by his dad’s side, often collecting awards alongside his famous dad and starring in his CR7 clothing line ads.
He’s even promising to have the same skills, wowing fans on the pitch at a World Cup warm up game — look how proud his dad is!
Did Ronaldo have his twins via surrogate?
In June 2017, he had twins via a surrogate — Eva and Mateo Ronaldo.
Just like their older brother, the four-year-old twins were born in San Diego.
The announcement shocked many, given that surrogacy comes with an exorbitant price tag (commercial surrogacy is actually illegal in Australia, but common around the world, particularly the US) and Ronaldo, still a young man then, had a girlfriend at the time.
Manhattan fertility expert Dr. Joel Batzofin told The Post it’s rare for single men, especially straight males, to choose surrogacy.
“Most people do surrogacy as a measure of last resort,” Dr Batzofin told the publication.
“I’m not going to tell you it’s hugely common but I [do] see it now more than I did five years ago.”
The process can cost up to $100,000, but given Ronaldo’s reported pay packet of $93 million, that’s hardly a splash in the pool.
“Cristiano Ronaldo will not share any reason as to why he chose a surrogate mother, he is simply grateful that he now has twins,” a rep for the soccer star said in 2018.
Then just a month later, Ronaldo announced his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez was pregnant with his fourth child.
Cristiano with his four eldest children.
Ronaldo was absolutely stoked with the fourth addition to his family.
“Being a father is a unique and personal journey, something that has changed me completely,” the Portuguese-born star said at the time.
“It’s taught me things about love that I never knew existed. It has softened me and given me a different perspective on what is really important in my life.
“Being a father and seeing my family grow is without doubt the greatest privilege I’ve had. Spending time with them, being by their side, smiling and laughing with them. They’ve brought a lot of happiness and joy to my life.”
This article orginally appeared on Now To Love and has been edited and reproduced with permission.
Update: “Now it’s time to be grateful for the life that we’ve just welcomed into this world.”
On Friday, the proud dad shared a fresh family photo with his 431 million fans, writing: “Home sweet home. Gio and our baby girl are finally together with us.”
Updating his followers, the sports star wanted to “thank everyone for all the kind words and gestures”.
He went on to say: “Your support is very important and we all felt the love and respect that you have for our family. Now it’s time to be grateful for the life that we’ve just welcomed into this world. 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻”
