Hafþór “Thor” Björnsson, one of the stars from the popular HBO series “Game of Thrones,” has announced the loss of his baby girl in a stillbirth at 21 weeks gestation.
Björnsson, originally from Iceland, is a professional strongman, and holds numerous records, including being the first and only person to win the Arnold Strongman Classic, the Europe’s Strongest Man and the World’s Strongest Man in the same year. He most notably played Ser Gregor Clegane, known as “The Mountain,” on “Game of Thrones.” Earlier this year, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame. Many have said that he is the strongest man to have ever lived.
Just three weeks ago, Björnsson announced the new addition to his family with his wife, Kelsey Henson.
“Life is precious and I couldn’t be happier to announce that our family is growing bigger,” he wrote. “Kelsey is 19 weeks pregnant with a healthy child who we cannot wait to meet! Ps [Kelsey] doesn’t wanna know the gender this pregnancy so you all gotta wait just like me!” He also said they had experienced “difficulties” in getting pregnant. The couple has one son together, Stormur Magni Hafþórsson. He also has a daughter, Theresa Líf, from a previous relationship.
Sadly, just weeks after publicly announcing the pregnancy, things took a tragic turn, and the couple lost their baby girl, who they named Grace.
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The couple both posted their statement about the loss on their Instagram pages.
“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,” their statement said. “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.”
Many other celebrities rushed to issue their condolences, including Arnold Schwarzenegger. “My heart is with both of you,” he wrote. “Please let me know if you need anything and know that you’re in my thoughts.”
