As Michail Antonio's ex-wife rushed to his bedside after a horrific car crash that left him in hospital over the weekend, it showed the pair's bond remains strong despite their divorce.
The West Ham striker, who shares four children with Debbie, had to be pulled from the wreckage of his £260,000 Ferrari yesterday – with the mother traveling from Manchester by his side.
And it's not the first time Debbie has been there for the star in times of need.
The couple met in January 2011 and started off as best friends before tying the knot and becoming husband and wife.
They made it official on July 6, 2017, when their wedding ceremony took place at the stately Staffordshire home.
Two years earlier, in 2015, the Jamaican forward arrived at West Ham and became the club's all-time top scorer in the Premier League.
But despite living his football dream, Antonio revealed his fairytale career hasn't always been smooth sailing. He often fantasized about giving up football and even dreamed of an injury to help him escape – with Debbie there to pick up the pieces.
Speaking on the Original Penguin
'My lady was lying next to me in bed and I didn't say anything, just tears fell. She looked up and said, “Are you okay?” and I said, 'Yes, I'm doing well,' but she said, 'You're not doing well, you're crying,' and I just said, 'I don't know if I want to play football anymore.'
On why he decided not to give up the profession, Antonio said: “Talking with my madam, my brother and my agent, I became a little lighter, enough to continue training and things like that. […].'
However, what seemed like a fairytale love story between the couple wasn't meant to last forever as they split after the birth of their fourth child in 2020.
Debbie often made sacrifices to help with Antonio's career, such as getting married just 20 minutes away from St George's Park, just in case England manager Gareth Southgate came calling.
“We planned it in case I got a call-up for England,” Antonio said while speaking to The Mirror at the EA Sports FIFA 18 launch event.
'We really wanted to do the wedding in Italy. But we decided, in case I got a call, we would just do it there. And then I got injured.
“Obviously my wife Debbie said, 'So we could have gotten married in Italy!' But at least I was there for the honeymoon.”
The former couple's children – Junior, Miles, Myla and a fourth – have all appeared on the footballer's social media accounts.
With the star reportedly left with a broken leg following Saturday's horror crash – which a witness claimed was caused by extreme weather caused by Storm Darragh – Debbie still rushed to his aid despite their split.
After the breakup of their marriage, Antonio appeared on the High Performance Podcast and talked about how the divorce affected his career.
In January 2024, the West Ham player said on the podcast: 'I was going through my divorce and everything, and I couldn't wrap my head around it to be honest.
'After we won, the whole team went out, the gaffer (David Moyes) went out, got going, a few guys didn't sleep for two days, just got drunk for two days.
'I slept on the bus and went back to the hotel. I was just mentally exhausted from everything that was happening outside of my football and then I went back to the hotel and went to sleep while everyone was partying.
“It wasn't until December that I was in a better place where I thought, 'Oh my God, I've won a European Championship'.”
Like many parents during Lockdown, Antonio was forced to homeschool his children, while Debbie welcomed the birth of their youngest child.
Towards the end of the 2019-20 Premier League season, he told West Ham TV: 'I have three children and my wife was pregnant until she had a baby on Sunday, so it was difficult to homeschool and get the time to to go running and all that, but knowing that the season was going to start again we just had to get on top of it and make sure we stayed fit because we knew we wouldn't have much time to get back into it.
'Aaaarghhhhh! I feel like homeschooling must be torture! If someone does something wrong, you should send kids to them and 'teach these kids!' because you know what, it was the hardest thing I've done in my life and it made me emotional. Teachers, I appreciate you!'
He added: 'We sat down and they looked at the work and you explained the work to them as simply as possible, and they just sat there, looked at the work and asked if they could go to the toilet.
'They went to the toilet, came back and asked for a drink. You went to the fridge, got them a drink, came back, they had a drink and they said they didn't understand.
'It was literally a cycle of toilet, booze and ''I don't understand'' and you sat there for five hours and just wanted to pull your hair out!
'They obviously liked PE but not English because of the comprehension and things you have to deal with! It brought me back, it brought me back.”
Antonio has been an ever-present in West Ham's Premier League team this season.
The star made 15 appearances in all competitions for West Ham during the season, scoring once.
Antonio is West Ham's all-time top scorer in the Premier League, scoring 68 times in the top flight.
The striker joined from Nottingham Forest in 2015 and was part of the team that won the UEFA Conference League in 2017.
He was also named the club's Player of the Year in 2017.
Antonio revealed earlier this year that he was undergoing therapy after losing so much love for football that he once hoped injury would sideline him.
The 34-year-old felt increasing pressure on his mental health following his split from Debbie.
“I was in the middle of my divorce and everything, and I honestly couldn't ignore it,” Antonio said.
'After we won, the whole team went out, the gaffer (David Moyes) went out, got going, a few guys didn't sleep for two days, just got drunk for two days.
'I slept on the bus and went back to the hotel. “I was just mentally exhausted from everything that was happening outside of my football and then I went back to the hotel and went to sleep while everyone was partying.”
“It wasn't until December that I was in a better place where I thought, 'Oh my God, I've won a European Championship'.”
The forward noted during a match in December 2022 that he kept thinking: 'I don't enjoy football.'
'During the match I thought: 'I really don't like this.' I just felt quite negative. I am a very positive person myself.
“I didn't score from December until I think it was March, April. And I just felt exhausted. And then I left with Jamaica because for some strange reason I enjoyed football with Jamaica. But I was actually praying for an injury.
“I thought, 'I just want to get injured, I want some time off.'
“So it's all those things circling through your head. You think, 'Is this the end for me? Is this my football career over?
'I started therapy because I was really having a hard time with it. And how I grew up, it was never a thing. I thought therapy was for crazy people. But therapy changed my life. It was awkward at first, I'm not going to lie. You were sitting in the room, someone was there and said, 'How are you?'
“And your natural reaction is, 'Fine.' So he said: ''Why are you here?'' I thought: ''To be honest, football, I'm struggling with football, I broke up with my wife''.
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