Current:Home > StocksOlympian Madeline Musselman Honors Husband Pat Woepse After Fatal Cancer Battle -Trailblazer Capital Learning
Olympian Madeline Musselman Honors Husband Pat Woepse After Fatal Cancer Battle
View
Date:2025-04-11 23:51:50
Madeline Musselman is remembering her late husband.
Less than a month after the Olympian shared her husband Pat Woepse had died at 31 following a battle with a rare form of cancer called NUT carcinoma, she joined family and friends to celebrate his life at an outing to Newport Beach, Calif.
In addition to a church service, Pat's loved ones honored him with an ocean swim as a tribute to the late UCLA water polo player, who once swam across the English Channel.
"All for you, Pat. All for you," Madeline captioned a Nov. 3 Instagram video. "We love you and miss you. We can do hard things. PW FOREVER."
The 26-year-old—who won gold with her water polo team at the 2020 Tokyo and 2016 Rio Olympics—first shared the news of Pat's passing on Oct. 10.
"No words to describe the ache of missing him" she wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the two on the beach. "He was the light of my life and my person. He was my first love and the best husband I could have ever asked for."
She added, "And although it feels heavy and I can't breathe as I sit here typing this out, he is no longer in pain and was so at peace during his last moments. He battled one of the most rare cancers for over a year, never complained, and fought harder than anyone should have to fight for something in their life."
But he'll always be in her heart.
"I love you so much babe," she said. "I will be missing you forever."
Madeline and Pat first met in 2022 and married in October 2023, shortly after learning about his cancer diagnosis.
"All the people that came together to make it happen within four days," Madeline recalled to NBCLos Angeles in August, "it was pretty crazy. We had flowers. We had a church that welcomed us with open arms to marry us. It was just a perfect weekend."
Pat had previously shared that despite his health and the chemotherapy treatments he was undergoing, he was determined to watch his wife compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics—and he did.
"This was my biggest goal, with everything being so unknown," he told NBC. "So pretty emotional, emotional day for me. Couldn't be more thrilled to be here to support Maddie and the team.
And while the couple wanted to keep many aspects of their lives private, the athletes shared their hope that by being open about their story they could be an inspiration to others dealing with difficult situations.
"We're sharing our story not for people to feel sorry for us or feel bad for what we're going through," Madeline said. "If anything it's for inspiration and that you can get to the other side of things With the people that are right next to you, we hope for that."
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (5)
Related
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Top US and Indian diplomats and defense chiefs discuss Indo-Pacific issues and Israel-Hamas war
- Baltimore police shooting prompts criticism of specialized gun squads
- Abortion providers seek to broaden access to the procedure in Indiana
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Tracy Chapman wins CMA award for Fast Car 35 years after it was released with Luke Combs cover
- Video shows man crashing car into Florida sheriff's deputies, injuring 2
- Robert De Niro's former assistant awarded $1.2 million in gender discrimination lawsuit
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Shohei Ohtani is donating 60,000 baseball gloves to Japanese schoolchildren
Ranking
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- It's time to get realistic about cleaning up piles of trash from the ocean, study argues
- Biden and Xi will meet Wednesday for talks on trade, Taiwan and managing fraught US-China relations
- Jared Leto scales Empire State Building to announce Thirty Second to Mars world tour
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Appeals court set to consider Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction
- West Virginia agrees to pay $4M in lawsuit over jail conditions
- Horoscopes Today, November 9, 2023
Recommendation
Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
Media watchdog says it was just ‘raising questions’ with insinuations about photographers and Hamas
San Francisco bidding to reverse image of a city in decline as host of APEC trade summit
France blames Russia for a digital effort to whip up online controversy over Stars of David graffiti
Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
Poland’s opposition party leaders sign a coalition deal after collectively winning election
How American Girl dolls became a part of American culture — problems and all
131 World War II vets die each day, on average; here is how their stories are being preserved.