The late Jonah Lomu and his wife Nadene had been told they’d never be able to have their own children, and so the couple looked on their two sons as ‘miracle’ babies, Nadene Lomu has revealed in an interview with French media.
In the French publication Midi Olympique Lomu’s widow says:
“Early on, John Mayhew (the All Blacks’ doctor) had made him understand that he could not have a child.”
She said that “year after year” this is what they’d believed. They’d even got a dog to fill the void in their lives.
“Then, as if by a miracle, our two little ones (Brayley is eight years old, Dhyreille, six) arrived.”
She adds that Dhyreille is “very proud of being born in Marseilles” and tells everyone that he is a Frenchman.
Nadene Lomu and sons Dhyreille and Brayley on the day of Jonah Lomu’s memorial service.
Lomu’s widow also spoke about Jonah Lomu’s last day, saying that he’d said something to her that had seemed strange to her at the time. “He looked at me and said, ‘You are an incredible mother and wife. Thanks for everything, darling.’ A few hours later, he lost his life.”
Jonah Lomu
It’s been almost two years since the legendary rugby great and devoted father died, and Nadene revealed that at times it’s still very tough for her and her sons.
“I lived, slept and worked with Jonah. We were never separated.” She says his absence has been “very difficult” to come to terms with and that her boys have their “good days and their bad”.
“We talk about Jonah every day. I told them that they would find their father in another life.
[But] sometimes they just want a hug from their father.”
Jonah Lomu
Lomu had had the names of his wife and two sons tattooed on his arm, and Nadene says her boys plan to get tattooed just like their dad. She joked that they’re already “athletes” who would “break everything at home” if she let them imitate their father’s sporting prowess.
Nadene is continuing on with the two business ventures that she and Lomu had been working on together before he died – a cosmetics brand (Nadene Lomu Cosmetics) and a line of sportswear bearing the name Jonah.
“If all goes well, the brand will be launched in Europe before Christmas.”
