Cristiano Ronaldo revealed the depth of his grief as he spoke publicly for the first time about the loss of his newborn son in April.
The 37-year-old athlete, who had the baby with model Georgina Rodriguez, opened up to Piers Morgan about the loss in a preview clip of his upcoming interview on Piers Morgan: Uncensored.
"It is probably the worst moment that has passed through my life since my father died (in 2005)," he recalled. "When you have a kid, you expect that everything will be normal, and when you have that problem, it's hard."
Cristiano continued, "As human beings, me and Georgina, we had quite difficult moments, because we don't understand why it happened to us. It was difficult, to be honest, it was very, very difficult to understand what's going on in that period of our life."
Cristiano and Georgina announced they were expecting twins in October 2021. When they found out they were expecting a boy and a girl, they posted a gender reveal on Instagram in December.
In April this year, the couple issued a joint statement on social media, stating their "baby boy has passed away".
Cristiano stated during his conversation that it was a time of joy and devastation, as the newborn's twin, a baby girl named Bella, did survive.
"I try to explain sometimes to my family and close friends," he shared. "They say, 'I never felt to be happy and sad in the same moment.' It's hard to explain - so difficult. You don't know if you cry, you don't know if you smile, because it's something you don't know how to react. You don't know what to do, to be honest."
The Portuguese soccer star is also father to Cristiano Jr., 12, and five-year-old twins Eva and Mateo, while he and Georgina also share a daughter Alana, five.
Cristiano's full interview airs in the U.K. on Wednesday and Thursday night.