Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett and his wife Jordanna announced the birth of their fifth child after they tragically lost their 2-year-old daughter nine months ago. Per GMA, Jordanna in an Instagram post stated that she gave birth to their baby girl Allanah Ray on Saturday.
“We welcomed Our sweet Allanah Ray, our heart is so full! ? 2•3•24 we love you so much already babygirl!” she shared with photos of their newborn daughter. Jordanna subsequently shared another post, writing, “Eyes are finally open! We are so in love with you Allanah Ray?.”
Allanah Ray’s birth comes after her older sister, Arrayah, 2, tragically passed away after she drowned in the family’s swimming pool on April 30, 2023. Authorities in the wake of the minor’s death said they suspected her drowning was a “purely accidental and tragic incident”, TODAY.com reported.
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Jordanna in a July 2023 Instagram post also revealed that she and her husband found out they were expecting a few weeks after Arrayah passed away. “I just know Arrayah had a special hand in picking this sweet girl to add to our family! ?? we are so beyond blessed, so beyond grateful that God chose to give us another little girl!” she shared at the time.
“We miss our Arrayah every second of every day, but I rest in knowing she’s going to be the best big sister angel to little miss Allanah!”
Barrett was out injured when their daughter Arrayah died. In an interview with ESPN last year, the linebacker opened up about how he was coping with his daughter’s death. “This is a daily battle. Tough battle,” Barrett revealed at the time. “Today I felt it heavier today than I did the last couple days,” the 31-year-old stated as that day would have marked Arrayah’s first first training camp practice attendance.
“Her smile — I just miss her so much. Her energy, just like putting her to bed every night, reading stories. She just brought so much brightness and wholeness and completeness to our lives. And we most definitely have a big, big, big, big, big hole in our hearts and our lives that we won’t be able to fill …”
Barrett also said his season-ending Achilles injury was probably a blessing as he got to spend extra time with Arrayah at home. “I’m not happy I got hurt, but I’m happy that I was able to spend all that extra time well from being hurt last year. So it, like … in hindsight, I’m looking back, I’m glad I was able to have that extra time with her so I could have more bonding time and experiences with her,” he said.
