Ashley Cain has revealed the death of his beloved grandmother as he paid tribute to the woman he said helped raise him.
Ashley, 35, shared the news on Instagram on Wednesday. He posted a photo of himself holding his grandmother’s hand.
As reported by The Sun, he described her as much more than a grandparent. He called her his “carer, my protector, my confidant and, in so many ways, my second mum”.
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Ashley Cain pays tribute to beloved grandmother following her death
Ashley opened his tribute with a simple line. He wrote: “Yesterday, we said goodbye to my grandma.”
He then explained how deeply she shaped his life. Ashley wrote: “She wasn’t just my grandma. She was my carer, my protector, my confidant and, in so many ways, my second mum.
“She helped raise me, shaped me and loved me through every chapter of my life.”
Ashley added: “When I look back now, I realise just how much of the man I’ve become was built on the love she gave me.”
He also praised her character in striking terms. He wrote: “She had the kindest heart I’ve ever known. Everything she did was for somebody else. She carried our family with quiet strength, endless compassion and complete selflessness.”
He said she never wanted praise. Making the people she loved happy was enough for her.
The childhood memories he could not shake
Ashley filled the post with memories from childhood and later life. The star recalled meals after school and time together in the garden.
He wrote: “I can still picture the countless dinners she’d have waiting for me after school, the afternoons she’d come into the garden to kick a football around with me when no one else would, and even years later, I’d still find myself going to her house after training before taking her to church on a Sunday.”
He said those moments built the foundation of his life. Ashley wrote: “Looking back now, I realise those weren’t just routines. They were the moments that became the foundation of my life.”
Ashley added: “She made me feel safe. She made me feel loved. She believed in me before the world ever knew my name, and she never stopped believing in me, no matter where life took me.”
He also reflected on grief. He wrote: “The hardest part of losing someone like her is knowing there will never be another. People like my grandma don’t come around twice.
“They leave fingerprints on your soul that time can never erase.”
Ashley added: “If I carry even a fraction of her kindness, her strength, her faith and her ability to love others without condition, then I’ll know she never truly left me.”
Ashley ended his tribute to his grandmother with a message about his daughter Azaylia, who died in 2021 aged eight months after an aggressive form of leukaemia.
He wrote: “Please give Azaylia the biggest kiss and cuddle, and keep looking after her for me in the heavens above.”
The heartbreaking news comes after the BBC decided not to air Ashley’s documentary Into the Danger Zone following the resurfacing of vile historic social media posts.
- Ashley Cain is a former footballer and television personality.
- He began his senior football career with Coventry City in 2008.
- He later moved into television in 2014.
- His TV credits include Ex on the Beach, The Challenge and SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The second season of the documentary was filmed earlier this year. However, BBC bosses have since confirmed they will not broadcast it.
The decision came after a number of offensive tweets previously posted by Ashley came back into the spotlight. Reports claimed the former reality TV star posted sexist and misogynistic comments on Twitter, now known as X.
In a statement, Ashley addressed the controversy. He said: “I don’t deny it, I don’t excuse it and I certainly don’t condone it. The truth is, these comments were made over a decade ago by a younger version of myself who still had a lot of growing up to do.”