Two years after the death of rugby legend Rob Burrow at age 41 following his battle with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), his wife Lindsey has said she will not date again. Asked if she could imagine finding love again, Lindsey, 43, who has children Macy, 14, Maya, 10, and Jackson, seven, with Rob, shook her head firmly.
"As long as the children are happy, I'm happy. Rob was the love of my life. No one will ever take his place," she said. "It's heartbreaking that he isn't here, but I'm so grateful to have had him as a husband, and father. He taught us that in the darkest of times, there's a strength within us that we don't realise we have."
Rob's diagnosis and legacy
Rob received his diagnosis in December 2019, aged 37, which turned the family's world upside down. He transformed the national conversation around MND, welcoming cameras into the family home for documentaries like My Year With MND and There's Only One Rob Burrow.
"I made Rob a promise that we'd keep living life to the full," Lindsey said. "And we're doing that. But you have good and bad days. You can be driving, a song comes on that reminds you of Rob and the grief just hits you. We were married for 17 years, we started dating as teenagers. Rob probably knew me better than I knew myself."
Keeping his memory alive
Rob's spirit remains part of their lives, with memory jars at home that the children look through regularly, and they speak about their father every day. "The outpouring of love has been incredible. We're just an ordinary, working-class family, but Rob was extraordinary in opening the door and showing people the reality of living with MND," she said.
Big milestones are hard, but everyday moments often hit harder. "It's him not being able to watch football with Jackson. You see other dads there, and part of me feels that Rob should be here," she said.
Children's strength
Lindsey recalled Rob as a devoted family man, taking the children to playgroups and rushing back from training to see them. "He'd always be the first to leave a function, as he wanted to get home to them. He was the best dad I could have ever wished for," she said.
Their children have been her ray of light. "They've helped me more than they'll ever know. They get on with life, and like Rob, don't look for pity. They're strong, and brave," she said. "They miss him terribly. But the way that they've handled it is because Rob showed them how. They're the reason I wake up with a smile in the morning. He'd be so proud. He idolised them."
Living with MND
Lindsey said Rob was "pound for pound, the strongest player on the team," and the diagnosis was devastating. "The reality is, half of people living with MND will die within a year of diagnosis. Six people in the UK will die today," she said.
"After he was diagnosed, he turned to me and said, 'Thank God it was me, not you or the children.' But as an NHS physiotherapist, I've seen how devastating MND is, whereas Rob was very much, 'There'll be a treatment, a cure.' He made it his mission to raise awareness, to give families hope. We had two options: live life to its fullest, or feel sorry for ourselves. And Rob was a tower of strength."
She added, "Simple things like playing football with Jackson in the garden, reading a bedtime story to the girls – he had all that taken away. And not once did he have any self-pity. I thought, 'If Rob can be positive, I have nothing to feel sorry about. I am going to stand shoulder to shoulder with Rob, and we'll throw everything at this.'"
Signs and the Rob Burrow Centre
Lindsey believes Rob sends her signs, including a white feather found by his chair the day after he passed, and a robin that comes into the garden. "Is that a coincidence? I like to think not," she said.
Lindsey oversaw the planning, design and launch of The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds, opened last November by Prince William. "It's an incredibly special place," she said. "I wish Rob was here to see the difference it's making. It was his vision: to build a flagship MND centre with all services in one place. When you walk in, it's like someone's putting a big arm around you. Nobody wants MND, but it's a place that gives people hope."
At Monday's Women of the Year Awards in London, Lindsey's work with the Rob Burrow Centre, fundraising and raising awareness was recognised with a Campaigning Champions Award. She has run four marathons to date in aid of MND causes. "To me, it represents resilience and courage. I hope it inspires other women to believe in themselves and embrace their own journey. For me, I'm just Rob's wife, I am very, very humbled," she said.
