The ‘heartbroken’ wife of NFL star Dalton Risner has revealed that she lost their baby son four months into her pregnancy.
Risner is a guard for the Cincinnati Bengals and, just four weeks ago, his partner Whitney announced that she was expecting a child.
‘Baby Risner, we can’t wait to meet you this year!’ she wrote on social media. But on Friday, the couple confirmed the tragic news that they had lost their ‘sweet baby boy’ at 16 weeks.
In a poignant statement on social media, Whitney said that, as well as the ‘precious baby boy,’ she had lost ‘pieces of myself, and the future I had planned out for the past 4 months.’
Whitney wrote on Instagram: ‘I wish I was writing any other post than this right now. I never imagined our journey to starting a family would begin like this.’
The former college basketball player added: ‘I don’t know exactly what the future holds, and that uncertainty is incredibly hard. But even in the midst of heartbreak and grief, I know God is still good.
The ‘heartbroken’ wife of NFL star Dalton Risner has revealed that she lost their baby son
Only four weeks ago, the Bengals guard’s partner announced that she was expecting a child
‘This loss has introduced me to a depth of pain and heartbreak that I never knew existed,’ Whitney wrote on social media
‘More than ever, I’ve realized how important it is who you marry and choose to walk through life with. Life is hard in so many different ways. I truly can’t imagine getting through this without my rock and best friend, @dalton_risner66.’
Whitney, who founded the jewelry company WAAWEES and has more than 1million TikTok followers, said it is the couple’s ‘second loss in just a couple of months.’ It is not immediately clear what preceded this tragedy.
‘This loss has introduced me to a depth of pain and heartbreak that I never knew existed. It feels like I’ve lost so much… our precious baby boy, pieces of myself, and the future I had planned out for the past 4 months,’ her statement continued.
‘To everyone who has prayed for us, checked in on us, and loved us through this journey to starting a family, thank you. We are so grateful for your kindness.
‘Sharing my life online means I get to celebrate the really fun moments with you guys, but it also means sharing the ones that completely break my heart. If you’re walking this same painful road, I want you to know that you are not alone.’
Risner, 31, joined the Cincinnati Bengals in 2025 after spells with the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings.
The offensive lineman was selected by Denver in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He has gone on to start 93 NFL games across the regular and postseason.
