Ashley Cain revealed in a new interview, the death of his eight-month-old daughter, who battled leukaemia, 'still haunts' him.
The former footballer and his ex Safiyya Vorajee shared a daughter named Azaylia. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia at just eight weeks old.
Her parents remained by her side throughout her long health battle until her heartbreaking death in April 2021.
A year and a half later, Ashley appeared on Steph's Packed Lunch to discuss Azaylia's last moments and the pain he and Safiyya went through.
"Getting told there is nothing else we can do, the best thing you can do is take your daughter home and try and enjoy the last moments… that seems crazy to me," he said.
"Enjoy being at home with the most precious baby girl you’ve ever seen in your life and you’ve got to be the person there to look after her when she passes away."
Ashley added: "You don’t know how she’s going to pass away, you don’t know how much discomfort she’s going to be in. All I could do was make sure I was there at all points.
"Azaylia ended up passing away in my and my partner’s arms, which still haunts me to this day. It’s something I will never get over."
The Ex On The Beach star visits his daughter at the cemetery and he explained how it's something 'you will never get over'.
During the summer, Ashley said he faces pain and gried 'every day' and added that she has been his 'superpower' as he knows she is 'watching down on him'.
He said on Good Morning Britain: "I believe my daughter is watching down on me. I believe she's got the best view of her daddy and now is my chance to take her around the world, with nothing but daddy power and that's what I've been doing."
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Ashley also shared his decision to keep his beard long, and it's all to do with his precious time with his baby daughter.
He said: "Everyone asks me about the beard, it's a common question. When we were in the hospital, we couldn't go out so I couldn't get a hair cut.
"I ended up growing this beard. As my daughter got older she began to grab hold of it, she used to hold it and rub her feet through it."
Ashley continued: "Because I haven't got her here with me anymore, I wanted to keep my beard cos she used to touch these very hairs on my face and I don't trim it, I don't shape it, I leave it."
While Ashley and Safiyya are no longer together, they remain close after the devastating battle they faced together.
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