Current:Home > FinanceOlympian Madeline Musselman Honors Husband Pat Woepse After Fatal Cancer Battle -Secure Horizon Growth
Olympian Madeline Musselman Honors Husband Pat Woepse After Fatal Cancer Battle
Fastexy View
Date:2025-04-08 18:04:02
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! (557)
Related
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz Apologizes Amid Massive Tech Outage
- Rare orange lobster, found at Red Lobster, gets cool name and home at Denver aquarium
- Blinken points to wider pledges to support Ukraine in case US backs away under Trump
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Donald Trump accepts Republican nomination on final day of RNC | The Excerpt
- Meet Keshi, an oncology nurse turned pop star with a massive world tour
- Remains of medieval palace where popes lived possibly found in Rome
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Cardi B slams Joe Budden for comments on unreleased album
Ranking
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Alaska election officials to recalculate signatures for ranked vote repeal measure after court order
- Nevada judge who ran for state treasurer pleads not guilty to federal fraud charges
- Detroit’s giant slide is back. There will probably be fewer bruises this time
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz Apologizes Amid Massive Tech Outage
- Nominations for National Guard leaders languish, triggering concerns as top officers retire
- North Carolina governor’s chief of staff is leaving, and will be replaced by another longtime aide
Recommendation
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
Biden pushes party unity as he resists calls to step aside, says he’ll return to campaign next week
To test the Lotus Emira V-6, we first battled British build quality
Blinken points to wider pledges to support Ukraine in case US backs away under Trump
What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
Member of eBay security team sentenced in harassment scheme involving bloody Halloween pig mask
Which sports should be added to the Olympics? Team USA athletes share their thoughts
RHOC's Tamra Reveals How John's Relationship With Alexis Is Different Than Ex Shannon