Arsenal and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has revealed for the first time that his wife Georgina suffered a miscarriage on a flight back to the UK in January.
Following the Winter World Cup in Qatar players were given an extended break and Ramsdale and his wife took the opportunity to head overseas.
But disaster struck on the six-hour flight home when Georgina suffered a miscarriage during her first pregnancy. Ramsdale was due to play just three days later for Arsenal.
'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 wrote 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 added: '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 a decision to make whether he would play just three days later against Tottenham - one of the biggest games of the season for any Arsenal player or fan.
He chose to play 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.'
The couple recently revealed they are once again expecting - but nobody outside of their inner circle knew that she had been carrying a child earlier this year.
In a video posted to Instagram in June, Ramsdale and his flight attendant wife, who got married at Chelsea's Old Town Hall two months ago, could be seen debuting her new baby bump.
In the clip, a positive pregnancy test can be seen placed on top of a baby onesie which reads: 'I love you so much daddy'.
Skipping forward a few weeks, the video montage cuts to them eating gender reveal cupcakes - tactically filtered in black and white.
Ramsdale's Players' Tribune letter explored a multitude of never-previously-discussed topics, including how his West End-performing brother is gay and why he is unwilling to turn a blind eye to any homophobic comments he hears in a football dressing room.
He added: 'Over the years, I’ve probably bit my tongue a few too many times — both in dressing rooms and on social media — whenever I hear homophobic comments or stupid things being said. And I think maybe my brother has done the same, thinking it would make my life easier. Well, all that ends today.'