By KATHERINE LAWTON and KIM MORRISSEY
Published: 09:17 EST, 8 December 2024 | Updated: 09:19 EST, 8 December 2024
As Michail Antonio's ex-wife rushed to his bedside after a horror car crash that left him hospitalised this weekend, it showed the bond between the pair remains strong despite their divorce.
The West Ham striker, who shares four children with Debbie, had to be removed from the wreckage of his £260,000 Ferrari yesterday - with the mother travelling from Manchester to be by his side.
And it is not the first time Debbie has been there for the star during his time of need.
The couple met back in January 2011, starting out as best friends before tying the knot to one another and becoming husband and wife.
They made it official on July 6, 2017, with their wedding ceremony taking place at Staffordshire stately home.
Two years prior, in 2015, the Jamaican forward arrived at West Ham and went on to become the club's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League.
But despite living out his football dream, Antonio revealed his fairytale career has not always been plain sailing, often fantasising about giving up football and even dreaming of an injury to help him escape - with Debbie there to pick up the pieces.
Speaking on the Original Penguin X Campaign Against Living Miserably Under The Surface podcast, Antonio said: 'I don't like showing emotion and I like dealing with things, but tears were just falling from my eyes in bed.
'My Mrs was laying next to me in bed and I didn't say anything, just tears falling – she looked up and said, ''Are you alright?'' and I said ''Yeah, I'm fine'', but she said ''You can't be fine, you're crying'', and I just said ''I don't know if I want to play football anymore''.'
West Ham striker Michail Antonio with his ex-wife Debbie, who he shares four children with
Football star Antonio and Debbie with their four children. The eldest three are called Junior, Miles and Myla
Antonio began representing Jamaica at international level back in 2021
Photos emerged of a smashed Ferrari, reportedly showing the aftermath of Antonio's crash
On why he decided not to give up the profession, Antonio said: 'Me talking to my Mrs, my brother and my agent took a bit of the weight off me, enough for me to keep going to training and stuff like that [...].'
However, what seemed like a fairytale love story between the couple was not meant to last forever as they split up following 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 just in case I got a call-up for England,' Antonio said during a chat with The Mirror at the EA Sports FIFA 18 launch event.
'We really wanted to do the wedding in Italy. But we decided, just in case I received a call-up, that we'll just do it there. And then I got injured.
'Obviously my missus Debbie was like, ''So we could have got 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 from the horror crash on Saturday - which a witness claimed was caused by extreme weather conditions brought about by Storm Darragh - Debbie still rushed to his aid despite their separation.
Following the breakdown of their marriage, Antonio appeared on the High Performance Podcast and opened up about how the divorce affected his career.
Speaking in January 2024 on the podcast, the West Ham player said: 'I was going through my divorce and stuff, and I honestly couldn't get my head around it.
'After we won, the whole team went out, the gaffer (David Moyes) went out, got steaming, a couple of boys didn't sleep for two days, just got drunk for two days.
'I was asleep on the coach and went back to the hotel. I was just mentally drained because of everything that was going on outside of my football and then I went back to the hotel and went to sleep while everyone was out partying.
'It wasn't until probably December where I was in a better place where I was like, ''Oh my God, I've won a European championship''.'
Like many parents during Lockdown, Antonio was forced to home-school his children while Debbie welcomed the birth of their youngest child.
Speaking to West Ham TV near the end of the 2019-2020 Premier League season, he said: 'I've got three kids and my wife was pregnant until she had a baby on Sunday, so it was difficult home schooling and getting the time to go for runs and stuff, but knowing that the season was going to get back on, we just needed to get on top of it and ensure we stayed fit because we knew we weren't going to have much time to get back into it.
'Aaaarghhhhh! I feel like home schooling should be a torture! If someone is doing something wrong, you should send kids to them and go ''teach these kids!'' because, do you know what, it was the hardest thing I've done in my life and it made me emotional. Teachers, I appreciate you!'
The former couple met in January 2011, starting out as best friends before tying the knot to one another and becoming husband and wife
Like many parents during Lockdown, Antonio was forced to home-school his children while Debbie welcomed the birth of their youngest child
He added: 'We sat down and they'd be looking at the work and you'd explain the work to them as simple as you can, and they would just sit there, look at the work and ask to go to the toilet.
'They'd go to the toilet, come back and ask for a drink. You'd go to the fridge, get them a drink, come back, they'd have a drink and they'd say they don't understand.
'It was literally a circle of toilet, drink and ''I don't understand'' and you'd be there for five hours and just want to pull your hair out!
'They liked PE, obviously, and didn't like English because of the comprehension and stuff you have to deal with! It brought be back, it brought me back.'
Antonio has been an ever present in West Ham's Premier League team so far this season.
The star has made 15 appearances in all competitions for West Ham during the campaign, scoring once.
Antonio is West Ham's all-time Premier League top goal scorer, having netted 68 times in the top flight.
The forward had joined the club in 2015 from Nottingham Forest and was part of the side to win the UEFA Conference League in 2017.
He was also named as the club's Player of the Year in 2017.
West Ham confirmed Antonio was involved in a car accident this weekend
Antonio was a key member of the West Ham side to win the 2022 Europa Conference League
Antonio earlier this year revealed he was undergoing therapy after falling out of love with football to the extent that he had once hoped he would be sidelined with injury.
The 34-year-old increasingly felt a strain on his mental health prompted by his divorce from Debbie.
'I was going through my divorce and stuff, and I honestly couldn't get my head around it,' Antonio shared.
'After we won, the whole team went out, the gaffer (David Moyes) went out, got steaming, a couple of boys didn't sleep for two days, just got drunk for two days.
'I was asleep on the coach and went back to the hotel. I was just mentally drained because of everything that was going on outside of my football and then I went back to the hotel and went to sleep while everyone was out partying.'
'It wasn't until probably December where I was in a better place where I was like ''Oh my God, I've won a European championship''.'
The forward noted during one game in December 2022 that he could not stop thinking 'I'm not enjoying football.'
'During the game, I was like, ''I'm really not enjoying this''. I just felt quite negative. I'm a very positive person myself.
'I didn't score from December until I think it was March, April time. And I just felt run-down. And then I went away with Jamaica because I was enjoying football with Jamaica for some strange reason. But I actually prayed for an injury.
'I was like, ''I just want to get injured, I want some time off''.
'So, it's all those things that spiral through your mind. You're thinking, ''Is this the end for me? Is this my football career over?''
'I started therapy because I was really struggling. And how I grew up, it was never a thing. I thought therapy was for crazy people. But therapy changed my life. At first it was awkward, I'm not going to lie. You're sat in the room, someone was there and goes, ''How are you?''
'And your natural response is ''Fine''. So, he's like, ''So why are you here?'' I was like, ''To be honest, like, football, I'm struggling with football, I split up with my missus''.'