A mum who lost one of her twin babies like Cristiano Ronaldo has told of the pain of her daughter's tragic death.
Rhiannon Donnelly, 33, whose little girl was stillborn, said: “It’s something you never expect to go through."
While she cherishes each moment with her son Gruffydd, who is five months old, Rhiannon is always aware that there is a space next to her baby boy that should be taken up by his twin sister Mabli, The Mirror writes.
Rhiannon states that the precious things which should fill her with joy, such as shopping for clothes for her son and spotting a set of twins in matching outfits, instead make her stomach sink.
She is one of those who have suffered the devastating loss of a twin, an agonising pain shared by Manchester United footballer Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodríguez.
“Buying for one instead of two is hard,” says children services worker Rhiannon, who is 33 and lives in Cardiff with her husband Nathan, 32.
“And when I see girls’ clothes in the shops it is very difficult.
“It’s also upsetting when I see other twins in their matching outfits. The first time it happened was on social media, because my algorithms were all twin stuff, so I had to come off it for a long time as that was all I would see.
“When I felt ready to go back on it, I put in that I didn’t want to see twins anymore. It was a stab in the heart.
“If I’m out and the grief hits, I’ll give my son a big cuddle, which is comforting, and I feel grateful that he is here and he is OK.”
The couple had been unsuccessfully trying for a baby for five years, and they turned to IVF, with the second round working.
Rhiannon says: “After trying for so long to get pregnant, we felt really blessed to be having two babies.”
But their joy turned to tragedy when, at Rhiannon’s 30-week scan on October 6 last year, they were told Mabli’s heart had stopped beating.
Rhiannon then had to carry her dead daughter for another five weeks, as she was told if they delivered both twins at that point there was a risk Gruffydd would also not survive.
“I was grieving, but Gruffydd kept Nathan and I going,” says Rhiannon. “Feeling him moving and kicking inside was reassuring.”
Gruffydd and Mabli were delivered by caesarean section five weeks later. After five days in hospital, Rhiannon was able to return home with Gruffydd.
And that was when the loss of their daughter became very real.
“Nathan and I had bought everything for them, as we knew with twins they often come early,” she says.
On December 3, Mabli was buried next to Rhiannon’s grandparents at a cemetery two minutes’ walk from home.
And the mum says visiting the grave to talk to her, which she does most days, is what helps when she’s at her lowest.
Rhiannon said: “I talk to her about how her brother is doing, and if he isn’t feeling well I’ll ask her to look after him.
“If we are going away, we go and see her before and I tell her that I wish she was coming with us, but I do find it incredibly difficult going away without her as I feel like I’m leaving her behind. I will never be able to move away from the area.”
Soon, there will be a headstone at the plot with the message, “Always and forever” on it.
Rhiannon was able to briefly see her daughter after she was born, and while the family don’t have any photographs of her, she finds solace in the fact the two children looked very similar.
She adds: “When I saw them they looked very alike. I find it comforting to look back at pictures of when Gruffydd was born, as it reminds me about what Mabli looked like.”
Rhiannon also takes Gruffydd to his sister’s grave.
“We want Gruffydd to know about her and will be open when he asks questions about her,” says Rhiannon.
As well as support from family, Rhiannon and Nathan received regular counselling from a local charity called Big Moose on Zoom. They were also put in touch with Twins Trust, which supports people who have experienced loss during a multiple birth.
For support with twin loss and multiple births, see twinstrust.org.
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