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Former world’s strongest man and Game of Thrones actor Hafthor Bjornsson has revealed the heartbreaking news his daughter was stillborn.
Bjornsson and wife Kelsey Henson announced they were expecting their second child last month with the due date in March 2024.
But less than a month later, they announced the “unbearable loss” on their Instagram pages.
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“It is with great sorrow that we announce the birth of our daughter, Grace Morgan Hafthorsdottir born Nov 8th at 21 1/2 weeks gestation,” the couple wrote.
“After a noticeable decrease in movement we found out her heart had stopped beating.
“Words cannot describe our pain of this loss or our happiness at being able to spend time with our daughter.
“She is absolutely beautiful, with blonde lashes and brows and a little smile for mom and dad.
“The love we feel for her is overwhelming. The grief we feel will be with us forever but so will the love.
“All of our hopes and dreams for her have been taken away from us but I know I will be with her again. Her spirit lives on through us and her siblings.
“We ask that you respect our privacy at this time as we grieve this unbearable loss.
“Thank you all for any kind words and support.”
Included in the post was a series of confronting pictures of their daughter Grace.
The post has had over 500,000 likes and many comments, including one from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“My heart is with both of you. Please let me know if you need anything and know that you’re in my thoughts,” he wrote.
The couple have previously documented their pregnancy struggles.
They tried for two years to conceive their first child, including an unsuccessful IVF attempt.
They finally fell pregnant naturally with son Stormur born in September, 2020.
Their second pregnancy was another lengthy process with IVF eventually proving successful.
When they announced their pregnancy, they explained the tough journey in a YouTube video.
Bjornsson is widely regarded as the strongest athlete in the world.
He is the only man to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe’s Strongest Man and the World’s Strongest Man in the same calendar year when he achieved the feat in 2018.
The 34-year-old also has achieved a string of powerlifting world records, including a 501kg deadlift and 250kg bench press.
Bjornsson is best known for portraying “The Mountain” in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones for five seasons.
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