Former Manchester United and Rochdale FC footballer Joe Thompson died at the age of 36 in 2025 after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma for a third time
The wife of the late footballer Joe Thompson has revealed she is pregnant after IVF treatment using frozen embryos.
Ex-Manchester United and Rochdale FC star Joe died in 2025 after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma for a third time. The cancer had spread to his lungs and he died just aged 36.
His widow Chantelle said: “It just means absolutely everything. I know it’s never going to replace Joe obviously. Joe’s Joe. But to be able to bring his baby into the world again is beautiful.”
Chantelle said she and Joe had two visions of their family that included a baby boy before his death. Joe had even given a name for the baby and his wife got pregnant on her first IVF treatment after he died.
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“Maybe two weeks before he passed, we were just sat in the garden and he just had a realisation and was like, ‘I think I was watching you with the baby and the girls in the garden, not me physically here with you’,” she said, reported ITV.
The mum-to-be said she does not know the gender of the baby and has an email with the details that is unopened on her computer. She will join Joe’s family in a small gathering to find out.
Chantelle revealed she is 25 weeks pregnant and that she was with her daughters in Bali, Indonesia, when she learned about having another baby. Their daughter Lula said: “When it had two lines I was in shock, my brain went completely blank.
“I was happy but I was just so surprised.” Joe and Chantelle previously lost their child Dre, who tragically died three days before he was due. The mum spoke about Dre, adding: “It means absolutely everything, and to be blessed for it to work first time.
“We’d gone through IVF for three years trying to get pregnant with baby Dre. But I just knew, I knew the timing was right, I knew Joe’s messages were right.”
Ahead of the baby’s expected arrival, friends, family and fans will repeat Joe’s 2024 fundraising walk on May 2. The walk will start at Rochdalee and will end at Manchester United’s stadium, Old Trafford.
“It’s just something we want to do annually, just to celebrate Joe and remember Joe, because life does go on for everyone else as well, and I think for us it’s important that we can continue the work he did when he was here, and keep that alive,” Chantelle added.
Chantelle said she is feeling apprehensive ahead of the anniversary of his death on April 17. She added: “I try to see the positive in things. Don’t get me wrong, there is times where I do think ‘Why us? Why have the girls not their dad? Why have we gone through this?'”
