Social media has rallied in support after Bachelor star Laura Byrne shared a heartbreaking post revealing her much-loved grandfather has passed away.
Taking to Instagram, Ms Byrne, 33, posted a series of photos of herself with her grandad, including one showing her eight-month-old, Marlie Mae Rose Johnson.
“Yesterday we said goodbye to our invincible Papa,” the touching tribute read.
“You were the glue that kept our family together and the one who made our childhood wonderful.
“We are so lucky that you are ours, I’ll miss you, every day old fella.”
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Since sharing the heartfelt message, the post has gathered 21000 likes and 295 comments, including many from Ms Byrne’s celebrity friends.
Bachelor In Paradise contestant Luke McLeod wrote: “Sending many good vibes your way. I’m sure he was very proud of the wonderful family he helped create.”
The Bachelor’s Brittany Hockley commented saying: “So much love to you.”
Personal trainer to the stars Jono Castano Acero added: “Sorry to hear that @ladyandcat sending your our love.”
While Ms Byrne met the love of her life Matty J Johnson in 2017 on the fifth season of the reality show, life hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the pair.
Although the couple celebrated the birth of their daughter last year, the 33-year-old previously revealed she had suffered a devastating miscarriage.
Last March, Ms Byrne revealed how she unexpectedly discovered she was pregnant and how excited the duo was by the thrilling news.
“Sure, it was a little earlier than we expected, but we were so on-board with this curveball baby life had thrown our way,” she said.
“I mean crazier things have happened, right? I met the man of my dreams on a reality TV show for God’s sake!”
She explained how one week out from her 10-week scan she woke up to find she had been bleeding - although at the time she didn’t realise she was miscarrying.
“I had read that some women experience bleeding during pregnancy and dismissed it as those damn wacky hormones. Over the next few days, the bleeding got worse and I had to accept the crushing truth — I was miscarrying,” she said.
“The week that followed was downright miserable for both of us. It seemed like every time I opened my phone people were announcing their beautiful pregnancies.
“All I could think was “why is this happening to us?” I didn’t know anyone who had experienced miscarriage before.
While coming to terms with losing that child was difficult, Ms Byrne said the moment was life-changing for her and her fiancee.
“This perfect unplanned surprise had turned our lives inside out and upside down. Now it was over.
“We couldn’t just go back to our pre-baby plans, what we wanted had fundamentally changed.”
Much to Ms Byrne’s surprise, she discovered she was pregnant again a few months later, and while the pair were over the moon, they also feared how quickly their “happiness could be taken away”.
“Pregnancy after miscarriage is weird and crazy wonderful. It brings with it all the joy, but also niggling anxiety that something might go wrong and the painful reality that it could.”
Ms Byrne gave birth to daughter Marlie-Mae Rose Johnson in June 2019. She is now eight months old.
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