An emotional Megan Gale shares heartfelt tributes to her partner and baby girl
In true ‘the days are long, but the years are short’ style, Megan Gale’s having some big feelings about her baby girl growing up – and her partner’s big announcement.
Celebrating Rosie
In the wake of a beautifully unconvincing announcement last week, suggesting her family with AFL player Shaun Hampson is complete, Megan looks to be focusing on making every baby moment count.
Shaun and Megan are parents to four-year-old River and baby Rosie, and the model mum took to Instagram to celebrate not only Rosie hitting the nine-month mark, but the months it took to grow her!
“9 MONTHS OF YOU,” Megan posted. “Hard to believe you’ve been growing outside of me for as long as you were growing in me.”
Last week she revealed “Shaun and I have (un)officially said we’ve closed up the baby making shop. (Meaning he’s happy as is – done and dusted) I guess, for the most part, I am too. My god being pregnant and giving birth is such an incredible experience and an absolute gift that I’ll admit … I’m finding it a little challenging to get my head (and heart) around the fact that this is it.”
We’re taking that unofficial disclaimer as a sign that perhaps these two have not quite settled into their decision. And that’s understandable because it’s a huge one and can take a while to warm up to.
“You are one in a million Shaun Hampson”
It’s not just Rosie that Megan’s counting her lucky stars over. She also shared a lengthy, emotional tribute to Shaun commending his hard work and dedication as a footballer – and his commitment and kindness as a dad.
After navigating challenge after challenge, Shaun announced his retirement to teammates on Tuesday and Megan obviously felt compelled to tell a little more of the story behind what must be a devastating announcement for her partner.
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- “He melts my heart” – Megan Gale shares rare photo of her son, River
Get your hankies out because it’s a pretty heartbreaking story – and Megan tells it beautifully and with lots of love.
“This guy,” Megan wrote alongside a photo of a strapped-up Shaun on the ground for his beloved Richmond Tigers. “When he wasn’t injured, he was one of the best tap ruckmen in the AFL. Not bad for someone who hadn’t even picked up a footy until his mid-teens.”
“Unfortunately, injuries for him were common, often debilitating and most of the time, pushed to one side while he played on and on and often in agony unbeknownst to a lot of people.”
“2016 was his best season to date and he dominated in the ruck for @richmond_fc and 2017 was looking bright … until his back gave out on him. After enduring countless procedures to get his back right again so he could reclaim his position in the squad (I’ve lost count how many needles he’s had into his spine and his L5 disc) he fought back bloody hard and he almost got there at the end of the season, listed as an emergency for the Tigers for the 2017 AFL Grand Final. But it wasn’t to be.”
“I can’t imagine the feeling of trying to overcome all kinds of physical, emotional and mental obstacles to get to an end goal, the ultimate goal of your whole career and only just missing out. Only to watch all of your brothers forge ahead and claim victory and glory without you. And then, as an added kicker, narrowly missing out on reaching 100 games.”
“But he never once said anything negative about that. Or any of it. I’ve never seen someone persevere, persist and be so professional while battling and dealing with some serious levels of pain. And all the while managing to laugh, joke, keep his spirits up, support his teammates to the enth degree and do everything in his power to still give 100 per cent to his club.”
“And then at the end of those long, hard days, still manage to come home and give 100 per cent to his kids and not let the strain of the day impact on his ability to be an amazing Dad and partner. He’ll probably be quite embarrassed that I’ve posted this. I may even be asked to remove it as he’ll think it’s making too much of a fuss … that it’s too much ‘carry on’. But it was something I felt had to be said.
“You are one in a million Shaun Hampson – and those who know and love you would agree with me I’m sure. I’ll miss watching you do your thing on the field as will a lot of people, but I’m excited for your future and our future together. Cheers to you big guy – you’ve done us all proud.”
These two are obviously super supportive of one another, and they have navigated some really tough stuff together, emerging with an even stronger bond. And isn’t it brilliant to hear more about a GOOD MAN, for once? Thanks for sharing, MG.