Latest news with #Zack George
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Gladiators' Zack George and wife Samantha break down in tears recounting devastating loss of baby on Loose Women - leaving Myleene Klass sobbing
Gladiators star Zack George and wife Samantha broke down in tears recounting the devastating loss of their baby son on Tuesday's episode of Loose Women. The pair, who are also proud parents to daughter Ivy, two, welcomed their son Leo into the world on 26th March 2025 when he was just 23 weeks old. 13 days later Zack - who joined the BBC show in 2024 - announced the tragic news of his son's death, after Leo suffered complications including brain bleeds, collapsed lungs and a hole in his heart. Zack and Samantha took to the panel to open up to Ruth Langsford, 65, Coleen Nolan, 60, Myleene Klass, 47, and Katie Piper, 41, about their loss. Their bravery to talk about such a sensitive subject really hit home to Myleene, who has been very open about her miscarriages in the past and has honoured for her services to women's health, miscarriage awareness and charity. Ruth said: 'Myleene, you're sitting there holding hands with Samantha, it is so devastating.' Myleene paused and gathered herself before saying: 'I am so so sorry. I think that you are so brave.' She continued: 'So brave. The fact that you can say the words four months later.' Ruth pointed out that the couple, who tied the knot last year, want to honor his memory to make something positive come out of the heartbreaking situation. The fitness fanatic will be taking part in a challenge where he will be doing a mile of burpees every day for 13 days. Zack explained: 'When Leo eventually passed away, the way I have to deal with grief, I have to have something positive come out of the situation. 'I couldn't, we just lost our baby boy, nothing else, nothing positive had come from this. 'I had to try and turn it into a positive somehow and get some good out of it. 'So straight away I just thought of a challenge. He was with us for 13 days, I know you mentioned Sam held Leo, one of my biggest regrets was that I was a bit too scared to hold him. 'He was so small and fragile. I never held him until the very last day. 'That evening, things weren't looking good. 'We came in. He kind of waited for us. 'That's the only time we got to hold him, when he passed away.' Samantha said: 'He did pass away when Zack was holding him.' 'It's a magical moment, but no parent should hold him until his heart stops beating,' Zack said holding back the tears. Zack continued later: 'We're hoping that the challenge will raise awareness. 'So I am going to be doing a burpe mile every day for 13 days straight.' Myleene asked where she could donate, to which he explained: 'We have Leo and Friends, which we set up, it's got a website, Leo and Friends Foundation. 'We've got our Instagrams as well, where the link is there. I just want to spread awareness for premature baby loss as much as possible. 'We've had so many people reach out to us and say thank you for talking about it, because they've gone through the same thing.'
Daily Mail
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Gladiator star Steel reveals risky procedure contributed to premature son's death as doctors fought to save his life after being born at 23 weeks
Gladiator star Steel has revealed a 'risky' procedure contributed to his premature son's death as doctors fought to save his life. Steel, 34, - whose real name is Zack George - announced that Leo had been born prematurely at 23 weeks on March 26 but passed away on April 7, after being cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit. In his first interview since, the TV personality detailed the tough decisions he and his wife Samantha had to make in the heartbreaking situation. Speaking to The Mirror, the couple explained how Leo's survival statistics 'weren't great' but he 'was big and had a good heart rate' which gave them hope. Zack explained: 'He came out and he was really strong. There was a honeymoon period where for the first day or two everything seemed to be going really well. 'So well, they decided to take him off the ventilator. He lasted about six hours on CPAP (a non-invasive form of breathing support), then they retubed him, which he stayed on.' Unfortunately Leo began to get air pockets around his lungs which were 'getting bigger' leading doctors to believe it was caused by a tube that created a hole in his windpipe. He added: 'It's no one's fault, a baby that young is really fragile, it's just a risk. That was really hard, because if it hadn't happened, he would probably still be here.' Zack and his wife laid their baby son to rest at a funeral service in May and shared a selection of the floral arrangements that had been on display in a social media post. The heartbreaking post also included a moving image of Leo's small white coffin, with his parents holding hands on top of it. A month after Leo's death, the family held a funeral to say goodbye to their little boy and Zack revealed the speech he had read out at the service. The speech read: 'The hardest speech I've ever had to read. You came into this world early, tiny and brave, with a heart that beat like thunder. 'Thirteen days. That's all we had. But in that time, you taught us more about love, and courage, than most ever will. Your body was small, but your spirit was big, fierce and unafraid. 'We called you Leo, our lion, not for how loud you roared, but for how hard you fought to stay. You knew our voices, you knew our touch, the warmth of our hearts pressed against yours.' He continued: 'You were held, you were known and you were loved. And though the world only had a brief chance to meet you, you changed it and You changed us. 'Now that you rest, we still carry you— in every quiet moment, in the breath between tears, in the space you filled just by being here. our son, our lion— you will always matter. You will always be ours. Rest easy our little boy.' Last month, Zack opened up about what Leo had to endure during his 13 days fighting in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In a heart-wrenching caption, he detailed the immense challenges Leo faced during his time in NICU, writing: 'What Leo had to endure during his 13 days fighting in NICU. 'Three blood transfusions, collapsed lung, a grade one and grade two bleed on his brain, a hole in his heart (PDA heart condition), a hole in his trachea causing air pockets in his lungs.' Zack also announced the launch of a charity challenge in Leo's memory, called '13 days fighting'.
