Cristiano Ronaldo says he keeps his infant son’s ashes in a chapel in his home after twin died during birth

Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodríguez announced in April that their twin son had died during childbirth

Cristiano Ronaldo has opened up about the tragic loss of his son and said he keeps the infant’s ashes in a chapel in his home.

The captain of the Portugal national team, 37, announced in October 2021 that he and his partner Georgina Rodríguez were expecting twins. However, in April, the couple shared that their son had died, while their twin daughter survived.

Ronaldo spoke candidly about the experience during his TalkTV interview with Piers Morgan.

“[My son’s] ashes are with me, like my daddy, they are here in the house,” Ronaldo revealed in the Wednesday interview, according to CNN. “It is something that I want to hold for the rest of my life and not throw to the ocean or to the sea.”

The professional athlete, whose father died in 2005, says he keeps his son’s ashes and those of his father’s in a small “church” he has in his home.

“I have a small church downstairs, a chapel, and I keep my daddy and my son there,” he explained.

During the interview, the Manchester United player also opened up about the joy and pain he felt following the birth of his and Rodríguez’s daughter Bella, describing the mix of emotions as “crazy”.

“I tried to explain sometimes to my family and even my close friends. I say: ‘I never felt to be happy and sad in the same moment.’ I never felt. It is hard to explain,” Ronaldo said, adding that it’s “so difficult” because he doesn’t know whether to cry or smile. “You don’t know what to do, to be honest.”

The couple shared the news of their son’s death in a joint post to social media in April.

“It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel,” the couple continued, adding that “only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness”.

At the time, the couple also expressed the enduring love they feel for their son who they ultimately named Angel.

While reflecting on his son’s death during the latest installment of the TalkTV interview, Ronaldo also spoke about how hard it was on him and Rodríguez.

“When you have a kid, you expect that everything will be normal, and you have that problem, it’s hard, you know, as human being that I am,” he said. “We had quite difficult moments because we don’t understand why it happened to us. It was difficult, to be honest. It was very, very difficult to understand what’s going on in that period of our life.”

During the interview with Morgan, Ronaldo also shared how he and Rodríguez shared the news of their son’s passing with their other children. The couple, who have been together since 2016, share five-year-old daughter Alana Martina, while the professional athlete is also father to 12-year-old son Cristiano Jr and five-year-old twins Eva Maria and Mateo.

When the couple brought their newborn daughter home, their other children began asking about her twin brother.

“The kids start[ed] to say: ‘Where’s the other baby, where’s the other baby? … Mom, where is the other baby?’” Ronaldo said, according to The Sun. “After one week I [said]: ‘Let’s be upfront, and let’s be honest with the kids. Let’s say that, Ángel, which is his name, he go to the Heaven.’”