‘FOREVER OUR SON’ Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and girlfriend announce tragic loss of their baby as star competes at World Cup
CODY GAKPO’s girlfriend has announced the tragic news that the couple have lost their child during pregnancy.
The Liverpool winger has been in the US in recent weeks competing at the World Cup with the Netherlands national team.
But now he and his long-term partner, model Noa van der Bij, will have to navigate this awful news together after she confirmed the loss on her social media pages.
She wrote: “With broken hearts, we share the devastating news that our baby boy passed away during pregnancy.
Heartbreakingly, they had already picked out a name, with van der Bij adding the touching message: “Elijah Raphael Gakpo. Forever loved. Forever our son.”
Elijah was van der Bij and Gakpo‘s second pregnancy, after welcoming their first child, Samuel Seth Gakpo, in 2024.
She revealed that the family lit a candle in a church in honour of Elijah, adding that they also bumped into another child, who shared the unborn baby’s name.
Van der Bij referred to the moment with hope, saying: “There could not have been a more beautiful sign from god. He reminded us that our little boy is never far away.”
Where to find help after a stillbirth?
A stillbirth is when a baby is born dead after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy. It happens in around 1 in every 200 births in England.
The emotional and physical impact on a woman is incredibly intense. Alongside the physical recovery of childbirth, mothers often face immense grief, overwhelming loneliness, guilt, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This trauma can be equally as severe for women who face the heartbreak of a late termination for medical reasons (TFMR).
If you or a loved one are going through this, you do not have to carry the weight alone.
Here are the UK’s leading baby loss charities, who offer free, confidential, and judgment-free support:
Both van der Bij and Samuel were in attendance in the US to support Gakpo during his World Cup opener against Japan last week.
But his imminent future at the tournament is naturally uncertain in the wake of such devastating news.
