Lindsey Burrow, the widow of rugby league legend Rob Burrow, is urging parents to talk openly about death and grief with their children, admitting she initially found it 'incredibly hard' to do so after her husband's passing. Rob Burrow, who played nearly 500 times for Leeds Rhinos over a 16-year career, died in June 2024 at age 41 after a battle with motor neurone disease (MND).
Lindsey Burrow's Mission to Help Families Navigate Grief
Since Rob's death, Lindsey, 42, has been raising funds for his Foundation and supporting other families experiencing heartbreak. She is highlighting new research from the charity 'Celebration Day', which found that over half of parents dread talking about death with their children. The charity encourages people to 'pause to remember and mark the memory of the people who made us who we are today' on the last Monday of May.
Speaking to Sky News, Lindsey, now a single mother to their three children—Macy, 14, Maya, 10, and Jackson, seven—said: 'We try and talk about Rob every day.' However, she admitted that initially, discussing his death with the children was incredibly challenging. 'As a parent you just want to protect your children and have to deal with your own grief as well as three grieving children is incredibly difficult,' she explained. 'Statistics show that 53 per cent of parents avoid talking about death with their children and I was one of those percentages because I feared talking about death with the children.'
The Importance of Open Conversations About Grief
Lindsey emphasised that grief is invisible, making it crucial to talk about it. 'Death to me was incredibly sad. But actually what I've learned is that it is okay to be sad and it is okay to talk about death. Grief is invisible so it is important that we do talk about grief and bereavement. For me as a parent it was always about me being so positive in front of the children but showing the children it is okay to be sad and okay to grieve is really important.'
She noted that from September 2026, the UK Government will introduce grief and bereavement into the national curriculum. In collaboration with Celebration Day, 'finding the words' packs are being sent to schools to support these conversations.
Rob Burrow's Legacy and Lindsey's Journey
Rob Burrow became a high-profile campaigner for MND awareness, helping raise millions for research and leading to the construction of a specialist MND centre in Leeds named after him. Lindsey shared how she copes with her loss: 'Everyone who has gone through grief knows you have your good and your bad days but the children keep me busy. The children are my priority and the reason I wake up in the morning with a smile on my face.'
She described her children as 'very much like Rob—brave, courageous, and loving life.' Lindsey added: 'I think none of us know what's round the corner, none of us know what path is going to take us on, so it's important that we live each day to its fullest and that's exactly what Rob wanted us to do and Rob showed us the way forward.'
Preparation and Final Moments
Lindsey previously told ITV News that she researched how to tell their children about Rob's death before he passed, but acknowledged that 'until you're actually in that situation it's very difficult to know what to do.' She found comfort in the fact that Rob 'had fought his battle and we were all there. He was surrounded by his family, by the ones who love him the most, and he went really peacefully, surrounded by love.'
Lindsey has written a memoir, 'Take Care', about her time as Rob's carer, sharing photographs of the family in his final moments. She said: 'The children had big smiles on their faces, painting his nails, making those memories so I'm so grateful we had that time as a family. I hope that the children don't fear death because he went very peacefully and that's the best we could've asked.'
Rob Burrow's Final Message
Before his death, Rob recorded a video message urging people not to 'waste a moment' of their lives. He also left messages for his children to be played at special moments. In the BBC documentary 'There's Only One Rob Burrow', he said: 'My final message to you is whatever your personal battle be brave and face it. In a world full of adversity we must still dare to dream.'
