Bode Miller and wife Morgan announce they are expecting identical twin boys

Couple's 19-month-old daughter Emmy drowned in 2018

Bode Miller and his wife Morgan Beck Miller have announced they are expecting identical twin boys, 14 months after they lost their daughter Emeline Grier in a drowning accident.

The couple revealed the news on Monday on the Today show, where Morgan, 32, said the news was “completely” a shock.

According to Morgan, a professional beach volleyball player, her husband has always said he wanted identical twin boys - and has had a feeling his dream would come true since he was young.

“Somehow I always knew I was going to have identical twin boys,” he told host Savannah Guthrie.

On Instagram, where the couple also shared the news of their expanding family, Morgan said they knew from the beginning of this pregnancy that “Emmy had her hands in this miracle somehow”.

In addition to the twins, who are expected in the fall, the couple also have a four-year-old son Nash and a 10-month-old son Easton. Bode, a former Olympic skier, has an 11-year-old daughter Neesyn, and a six-year-old son Samuel, from previous relationships.

According to the couple, who welcomed Easton just four months after the death of their daughter, their youngest son reminds them “so much of Emmy”.

“He’s got this amazing personality and he’s so happy, and he’s just such a perfect addition to our family,” Morgan said. “It’s like he was waiting for us to bring him into this world.”

As for how the family has dealt with the grief of losing their daughter, Bode said: “The kids kind of pull us forward” and that the support of both family and friends has helped them.

The couple also discussed the measures they take to ensure their children, and other children, are safe, including raising awareness about infant pool safety and teaching Easton how to float through Infant Swimming Resource’s Self-Rescue (ISR). The program teaches children how to roll onto their back and maintain the position until help arrives.

“It definitely took patience and bravery and grace with ourselves. There were moments where it was a trigger,” Morgan said of the lessons.

Emeline drowned in a backyard pool on 10 June 2018. Although Morgan performed CPR on her daughter, she died the following day.

On social media, the couple regularly shares videos and photos in memory of their daughter.

Drowning is the number one cause of death for children under five, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

To prevent unintentional drowning, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises parents to “never - even for a moment - leave children alone near open bodies of water.”

To learn more about child swimming safety, you can find more information here.