Rio Ferdinand didn't think he'd ever be happy again after death of wife Rebecca

Albertina Lloyd
·Contributor
Updated ·2 min read
Rio Ferdinand with his late wife Rebecca Ellison in 2013. She died in 2015 after battling breast cancer. (AP)
Rio Ferdinand with his late wife Rebecca Ellison in 2013. She died in 2015 after battling breast cancer (AP)

Rio Ferdinand has said he didn’t think he would ever feel happiness again after the death of his wife Rebecca Ellison.

The football star – who lost his wife to breast cancer in 2015 – married former The Only Way Is Essex star Kate Wright in September 2019 and the couple star appear a new BBC documentary Rio and Kate: Becoming A Step Family.

Ferdinand, 41, said of Rebecca’s death: “I thought I’m never going to be happy again.

Read more: Kate Ferdinand reveals Rio's children have asked about baby plans

"I’ll never meet anyone, I was just really content with just being me and the kids and that’s all I thought it was going to be. And then something just happened."

Wright, 28, is now stepmother to Rio's three children, Lorenz, 13, Tate, 11, and eight-year-old Tia.

Ferdinand said: “When you speak to the kids and the response is much more fun in the house, like – what dad couldn’t want that? She’s uplifting, she’s added value to this house given where it was. It was at a low ebb."

He added: "You feel you’ve been dealt a terrible hand, but your luck can change."

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 16: Kate Wright and Rio Ferdinand arrive for the European film premiere of 'Toy Story 4' at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square on 16 June, 2019 in London, England (Photo credit should read Wiktor Szymanowicz / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
Kate Wright and Rio Ferdinand married in September 2019 and she is stepmother to his three children (Getty Images)

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Wright said: “I do feel like I am winging it. I can’t ring my mate and say, ‘what do I do?’ No one’s with someone and their partner’s passed away and their kids haven’t got a mum."

Breaking down in tears she added: "I just want the children to be happy. It’s hard for us so I can’t imagine how hard it is for the kids."

The children were a big part of the couple’s engagement, looking on as Ferdinand proposed to Wright in Dubai late in 2018 and were involved in the wedding ceremony last year.