Rio Ferdinand's daughter Tia called Kate Wright her 'mum' as they visited her mother's grave.
In BBC documentary Rio And Kate: Becoming A Step Family, they were at the resting place of the footballer's late wife Rebecca, who tragically lost her battle with breast cancer in 2015.
As they laid down flowers and took time to reflect, eight-year-old Tia referred to Kate as her mother.
"Mum are we releasing the balloons?" she asked as they visited the grave.
Her big brother Lorenz, 13, explained that because Tia was only little when she lost her mum she has gotten used to calling Kate mum since she joined the family two years ago.
He said: "Tia she's never really had a mum. Sometimes I used to think this as well, it's gonna be weird not saying mum ever again.
"But then Tia in a way she didn't really know mum, do you know what I mean?
"Calling her mum might be a natural thing."
Kate said she thought Tia had been affected particularly badly because she was at such a young age when she lost Rebecca.
She explained: "If Tia says why is my mum not here, why can't she come back?
"What do you say?
"When you get to the age of seven it's when you start understanding life isn't a fairytale, that people do die and they're not gonna come back.
"She's going through a process now where she's trying to understand it all."
Kate and Rio tied the knot in Turkey last year, and Rio credits the making of their new BBC documentary with helping them talk through their issues.
