How Tyson Fury and wife Paris overcame stillbirth and miscarriage heartbreak before joy of baby Athena’s birth
BOXER and family man Tyson Fury and wife Paris recently announced the joyous arrival of their sixth child - a baby daughter named Athena.
Tyson had initially asked fans to pray for her as he revealed the newborn was in intensive care, but fortunately the family have more recently been enjoying time at home after she was discharged from hospital on Friday.
Athena is their third daughter, following Venezuela, 11, and Valencia Amber, three.
They also have three boys - Prince John James, eight, Prince Tyson II, four, and two-year-old Prince Adonis Amaziah.
Despite the family's joy following the new arrival, the couple have also had to overcome heartbreak in recent years too.
Double tragedy
Paris met 6ft 9in Tyson they were 16 and 17 and got married in front of 300 guests in 2008.
They have made no secret of their desire to have a big family, with Tyson recently declaring they wanted 11 children - enough for a "mixed football team."
And while they've been blessed with six children, it hasn't always been easy for the couple.
In 2014, they tragically lost a baby when Paris was six months pregnant, and she was forced to endure a stillbirth.
The traumatic loss occurred at the same time Tyson’s uncle Hughie died.
Tyson told the Daily Telegraph: "My wife Paris gave birth to a child at six months old that was dead.
"I had to be there when she was delivering the baby.
"We were in one side of the hospital and my uncle Hughie was dying on the other side of the hospital, at the same time.
"That was the end of 2014, and I suppose I didn't really think about it. I stopped myself from thinking about it. I needed to put it to the back of my mind."
'We're together and a team'
The following year, despite beating Waldimir Klitschko and being crowned world heavyweight champion, Fury began to suffer with depression, and he was also later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
His weight spiraled to 28st and the sports star, for a time, turned to drink and drugs, drinking 18 pints a day at one point.
Things got so bad, Tyson revealed he once drove his Ferrari towards a bridge at 190mph in a desperate bid to end his life - however with Paris' love and support, he was able to turn his life around.
He said: "I gave up on life but as I was heading to the bridge I heard a voice saying, 'no don't do this Tyson; think about your kids, your family, your sons and daughter growing up without a dad.'"
Paris told the Mirror: "Tyson never quit on me and the children, and we didn’t quit on him. We’re together and we’re going through it together as a team."
The biggest battle
Speaking about the dark days, Paris revealed at one point they were basically on "suicide watch";, saying: "He didn’t even want to get up in the morning, go for a jog or go out as a family. He was never happy.
"The times he was staying out got later – 1am, 2am, 3am – then he’d come home upset and depressed – and as things got worse, in tears.
"Now he speaks out about his mental health. He’s told me, ‘If I can help one person I’ll be happy. I don’t want anyone to go through what I have’.”
"He had two years in the gutter, fighting himself. Now he’s defied the odds again."
'I knew I'd lost our baby'
While Tyson managed to resume his career, just days before his comeback fight against Sefer Seferi in 2018, Paris tragically suffered another miscarriage.
Fearing it would impact her husband in the ring, or have an effect on his mental health, she decided not to tell him until after the fight.
She said: “I was about eight weeks pregnant.
“Then on the day of the fight I knew I’d lost our baby.
“I didn’t mention it to Tyson before he went in the ring.
"Then straight after it I told him and the next day we went to the hospital and it was confirmed.
"Five weeks later we fell pregnant again...We were still heartbroken over our loss, but overjoyed at the same time."
Tyson was born three months prematurely and weighed just a pound. It's the reason his dad John opted to call him Tyson, after boxer Mike Tyson, saying: “I thought, ‘There’s only one name fitting for him, he’s fought hard to become a person living in this world'."
'Health and family are the most important thing'
Now, the family are a stronger unit than ever before, with Tyson recently saying: “Got a beautiful wife, beautiful kids, they’re all healthy. That’s the most important thing, you know, your health and your family.”
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Tyson is proud of his roots in the travelling community and while he wants his children grow up with the same values, the boxer is keen to break tradition in some ways to provide what he believes is best for his kids.
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Despite Paris saying their children would likely leave school aged 11 and stay at home until they marry, Tyson has said: "I would be very, very proud if one of my children were to be the first [of the family] to graduate from university.
"Maybe we could even have the first Dr Fury one day."