Barry McGuigan's beloved wife - who is the woman who helped him through daughter's cancer tragedy?
Barry McGuigan broke down in tears on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! while discussing the tragic death of his daughter Danika, who died in 2019 at the age of 33
Boxing legend Barry McGuigan showed his emotional side on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on Monday night as he opened up about the loss of his daughter and left thousands of viewers in tears.
The 63-year-old sport star and his wife Sandra, who he wed back in 1981, were left devastated in 2019 when their daughter, Danika - who was affectionately called Nika - died at the age of 33 following a battle against cancer. Barry shared the sad news at the time, sharing a photo of himself with his late daughter online.
At the time, in a heart-breaking post, Barry typed: "The most difficult thing I've ever had to do was to say goodbye to my amazing daughter Nika earlier this week. She has been a shining light in our family's lives for the past 33 years.
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"Nika was an extremely talented and inspirational young lady who radiated kindness and love. Our hearts are broken and we know that life will never be the same again for us. However, Nika lives on in so many parts of our lives which we are grateful for. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who sent flowers, cards, Mass cards, Instagram messages, Facebook, Twitter, texts and email messages of condolences and support."
Born in Clones, Co Monaghan in February 1961, Barry earned the nickname 'The Clones Cyclone' during his successful career boxing. Since retiring from the sport, Barry has become a boxing manager and promoter as well as a boxing pundit for Sky TV.
After the tragic loss of their daughter, Barry and his wife Sandra Mealiff supported one another through their grief. The pair grew up together in their hometown of Clones before tying the knot in December 1981. The couple have welcomed four children, sons Shane, Jake, Blain, and their late daughter Nika.
The family were left heartbroken in 2019 when Nika passed away at the age of 33 after a battle against cancer. They now live a relatively private life near Whitstable in Kent.
During Monday night's I'm A Celeb episode, Barry opened up about his family loss in a candid conversation with radio host Dean McCullough. Viewers watched as Dean asks Barry if he goes to church and the sport star replied: "I used to go to church a lot but after my daughter… you know, not so much."
Discussing his loss, the boxer explained: "She had leukaemia, when I was making the boxing film with Daniel Day Lewis, three weeks from the end I had to leave because she’d been diagnosed with leukaemia, they thought she wasn't going to get better but she fought back and she won it. She had two years of chemo."
As Barry became emotional and broke down in tears, all the campmates rallied around to console him, with Danny Jones and Tulisa Contostavlos giving him a hug. Barry said: "Thank you, you’re all so lovely, I really appreciate it."
Barry's son has since broken his silence following his dad's heartbreaking I'm A Celebrity scenes. Taking to Instagram, paying tribute to his dad, Shane McGuigan wrote: "Thank you to all the other campmates supporting dad. We appreciate it immensely."
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