How Meredith Gaudreau celebrated her 1st birthday after Johnny’s death
Meredith Gaudreau spent her first birthday after the death of her husband, Johnnysurrounded by his children and loved ones.
The birthday celebration took place on Monday, January 20, almost five months after Johnny, 31, and his brother Matthew29 years, were a drunk driver died while cycling in Oldmans, New Jersey in August 2024.
In a photo shared via Instagram by her sister, LilyMeredith was seen blowing out the birthday candles while holding her daughter, Noah2 months and a son Johnny22 months.
“Happy birthday, Dit!!” Lily wrote as Noah and Johnny watched with wide eyes.
Meredith Gaudreau found a poignant way to preserve her late husband’s legacy forever. Following the death of Meredith’s husband, NHL star Johnny Gaudreau, in August 2024, she recently got tattoos in memory of Johnny using his ashes in ink. “A month ago, a client asked me to make a tattoo with cremation,” the tattoo artist (…)
In another photo shared by Lily and posted by Meredith, she and Johnny are fast asleep on the floor.
Lily wrote: “Birthday is sleeping.”
Meredith also received birthday messages from some of her best friends, including some famous hockey WAGs.
Claudia Mangiapanewife of Calgary Flames star Andrew Mangiapaneshared a photo from her wedding day, standing next to Meredith. Andrew and Johnny played together for four years in Calgary.
“Happy birthday to the man who knows me better than I know myself and has been through every high and every low (and every dinner table),” Claudia shared via her Instagram story. “I am eternally grateful to you, John and the children. Our chosen family. Even luckier to call you my best friend. A sister, actually.’
Claudia continued, “Here’s to a life full of laughter and tears together. I love you more than words can say.”
Ryan Hendricksgirlfriend of the Boston Bruins quarterback Ryan Bankscalled Meredith “the most beautiful woman inside and out” in a birthday message shared via her Instagram Story.
At Johnny and Matthew’s memorial service in September 2024, Meredith it turned out she was nine weeks pregnant with her and Johnny’s third child.
In October 2024, Meredith celebrated her daughter Noah’s 2nd birthday with the help of the Columbus Blue Jackets family, the team Johnny played for at the time of his death. More than a dozen players, along with their wives and girlfriends, attended Noah’s party, which took place exactly two months after Johnny’s death.
“We love you all,” Meredith wrote on Instagram alongside a photo from the party. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart 💙a truly special group that will forever be family to me and my children.”
The party was also attended by Johnny’s sisters, Kati and Kristenand wife Matthew Madeline. Madeline in December 2024 gave birth to the couple’s first childboy named Trip.
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