AFL star’s emotional post after partner’s family heartbreak

The new partner of Geelong star Gary Rohan has revealed the family heartbreak that surrounds the death of her mum.

Madi Bennett, a former physiotherapist with the Cats, recently spoke of the moment eight years ago when she was told her mum had died.

She was just 19-years-old at the time.

To complicate her grief further, Bennett has revealed to Power, Strength and Vulnerability: The Mental Health Podcast that the death had terrifying complications for herself and the rest of her family.

Her mum had lived with Huntington’s disease, a condition that results in brain function deteriorating. It is caused by a faulty gene that is passed on from parents to their children. Children have a 50 per cent chance of developing the condition when passed on from their parents.

Bennett detailed the traumatic details of the family’s pain, revealing she received a call in the middle of the night from her Nanna where she was told her mum had died at the age of 47.

It was crushing for Bennett, who was at times the primary carer for her mum during her teenage years.

“It was very much a part of my reality that I would lose Mum earlier than expected, but her death was still quite sudden,” Bennett said.

Madi Bennett and Gary RohanSource:Supplied

Gary Rohan’s post in tribute to partner Madi BennettSource:Supplied

“Mum didn’t have much quality of life towards the end, but we still thought we had a bit more time. It took us by surprise, but that’s a part of the disease — it’s so savage, and so unpredictable.”

Four years later Bennett bit the bullet to be tested for the disease, knowing that there was medically nothing that could be done even if the disease was discovered early.

She admits she broke down after receiving the news that she was negative for Huntington’s.

“I can’t even explain… there’s no possible words in the world,” she said.

“I just dropped. Just bawled my eyes out, went numb, sweaty, crying. I hugged my genetic counsellor for ages. What a bloody process to have gotten to the end of.”

She said the diagnosis means she is now looking forward to being a mum for the first time.

Rohan already has two daughters Bella, 3, and Sadie, 1 with ex-wife Amie Rohan.

The separated couple’s third daughter Willow Nevaeh, died just five hours after being born as a result of a fatal neural tube defect with no cure known as anencephaly.

Rohan on Wednesday shared his admiration for his new partner and his pride in seeing her discuss her emotions publicly.

“He wrote on Instagram: “I’m so proud of this incredible woman, one of the strongest people I have ever met. I love you”.

Gary Rohan of the Cats and his partner Madi Bennett.Source:Getty Images

After photos of the couple were deleted on social media earlier this year, Rohan and Bennett’s relationship was publicly confirmed in May when they shared a kiss on the field ahead of the footy star’s 150-game milestone match.

Rohan’s four-year marriage reportedly ended when the AFL went into its Covid-19 isolation bubble in 2020, just months after the birth of the pair’s third child Sadie Rose in March last year.

Amie and Gary were childhood sweethearts and married in 2016.

Amie was a notable absentee when many of the club’s partners and children joined the players inside their Gold Coast isolation hub in August.

She stayed behind on the Bellarine Coast near Geelong with her daughters.

Last month, Rohan robustly denied “vicious” rumours linking him with the wife of teammate Lachie Henderson.

Rohan and Henderson both publicly slammed the swirling whispers, which were instantly dismissed as nothing more than a disgusting act of online slander.

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