Chantelle Thompson, widow of tragic midfielder Joe Thompson, is 26 weeks pregnant with his baby after IVF using a frozen embryo - a year after he died from cancer
Will Schofield Senior Sports Reporter and Hannah Britt, Senior Reporter Mirror Features
15:04, 17 Apr 2026
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Joe Thompson passed away last April(Image: Ian Hodgsonn/ANL/REX/Shutterstock)
The widow of former Manchester United youth star Joe Thompson is 26 weeks pregnant with his baby after IVF using a frozen embryo.
Chantelle Thompson, 36, is marking the first anniversary of the ex-Rochdale midfielder's death tomorrow with the news and is certain she is expecting a boy, following a vision Joe had before he died, of her holding a baby.
Speaking about his "vision," she told The Mirror: "Six months before Joe passed, he saw me in our garden throwing a baby boy up in the air. He said, 'Chan I've seen it. He was a boy'. We'd previously lost a baby boy in 2021 and then gone on to have our daughter Athena afterwards.
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Chantelle is pregnant with Joe's baby after IVF treatment
"He said, 'I've seen him - he's here. There's nothing to worry about. He's going to be here. He gave me his name.'"
Joe, who passed away from Hodgkin's lymphoma - a type of blood cancer - at the age of 36, was Chantelle's teenage love. They tied the knot in 2016, dreaming of "a house full" of children.
Diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and again in 2017, he recovered twice, before it returned in April 2024, spreading to his lungs.
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Joe had a lengthy battle with cancer(Image: Joe Thompson/MEN MEDIA)
Influencer and beauty brand founder Chantelle, now raising their children Lula, 12, and Athena, three, with the assistance of her mum who has moved into their refurbished Manchester farmhouse, says: "When Joe was here, we'd always discussed [the fact] we wanted to have more children.
"If it hadn't been for Joe's cancer diagnosis, we would probably have a house full of them. But we struggled after Joe's second diagnosis. He had a stem cell transplant, and the doctors had said there was no way I would fall pregnant naturally.
"He, basically, didn't have any sperm. So we began our IVF journey in 2018."
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The pair pursued IVF after Joe's cancer treatment
Their decision to try IVF meant that Chantelle was able to conceive his baby after his passing. Speaking on the Think Deepa podcast, she explains: "I remember being in the IVF clinic years ago and they said we needed to have the conversation, you know...if one of you passes away, they will leave behind unused sperm and all the eggs.
"At the time I was laughing, 'I can use your sperm, you can use my eggs.' We signed for that. And I just knew I definitely wanted to have more children. It was just kind of in my mind.
"I was like, 'when is the right time to do that?' And it just felt right. I was like, 'you know, if it's meant to happen, it will happen.' And it did. I knew straight away. When I went to the IVF clinic, when they put the embryo in, I just knew."
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Joe left behind his young family(Image: Chantelle Thompson)
When the couple first attempted IVF, it took three years to conceive - only for them to lose their baby, Dre, a week before his due date.
Then, miraculously, they fell pregnant naturally with Athena. Describing it as "crazy," Chantelle continues: "They tested Joe's sperm and it was like, 'you are flying - there's more than your average man in there.' She [Athena] was just meant to be here."
So, the baby she is currently expecting is her second miracle pregnancy. And, despite not officially knowing the gender, Chantelle, who says she and Joe were both 'spiritual,' is convinced her husband's vision indicates it's a boy. She says: "We know it's a boy, because Joe has told us," reports the Mirror.
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Joe had turned out for Rochdale as a professional(Image: Getty Images)
Joe, who honed his skills at Manchester United's academy, netted the decisive goal against Charlton Athletic that saved Rochdale from relegation in 2018. However, following his third cancer diagnosis, he shifted his focus to fundraising - dedicating his time to other families experiencing the same ordeal.
Reflecting on the day when Joe shared his vision with her in more detail, Chantelle recalls: "I would take him out, we'd sit in the garden and just have chats.
Three weeks before he passed, he got quite emotional and said, 'You know, I've come to the realisation that what I experienced is you with a baby boy, but I don't think I was there'."
Joe started his career with Manchester United
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Joe started his career with Manchester United
Despite his deteriorating health, Chantelle confesses she found it impossible to accept her soul mate was going to die.
She admits: "I think Joe had accepted that he was going to go, before I did. And I think that's probably like a self-defence thing. You don't want to admit that this is going to be the end and come to terms with how it's going to be, living without that person."
Cancer changed both their lives. She explains: "It made us realise just how precious life is. We homeschooled the kids. We spent a lot of time with the kids. We spent a lot of time together."
Given the choice between going out with her friends or spending time with Joe, he won every time. She admits: "I was totally unprepared for his death."
Chantelle also shared the touching message she believes she received from Joe from beyond the grave. Still convinced he is with her in spirit, she says: "I know he's here.
One day, I started to sing the Black Eyed Peas song, Meet Me Halfway. It just came from nowhere. I didn't even know it was Black Eyed Peas, I just sang the chorus. "Athena said to me, 'Daddy loved that song'. And I was like, 'Oh, really?'"
"Then all day she kept saying to me, 'sing Daddy's song again'. I put a message in the family group. I felt there was some connection. My sister came back and said, 'have you actually looked at the lyrics of that song?'
"And it turns out the lyrics are, 'meet me halfway, right at the borderline, is where I'm going to wait for you'. I must've cried for about two hours. I just know it was a message from Joe, he's waiting for me to connect when I'm ready."
Three weeks later, while the family were dining in a restaurant, the song played once more. Chantelle recalls: "None of the music had been like that before, it stood out. Then, the morning after, we were having breakfast and the song came on again. 'Meet me halfway. I'm coming Joe.'"
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"Two days later, in the evening, someone walking by was singing the song. It's a reminder, I know he's there. I can't imagine how people cope when they don't have that belief when someone passes. People think it's the end, when it's really not." Losing Joe has also provided her with a fresh outlook on life.
Sharing her new philosophy, she explains: "Don't waste your life. Don't waste your time, because we don't know what that time looks like. You know, we didn't think that Joe wouldn't be here. But he isn't. So don't waste your time doing something that you don't enjoy."
While she understands that their second miracle baby will not replace Joe, she adds: "To be able to bring his baby into the world again is beautiful."