Madeline Gaudreau is remembering her late husband, Matthew, as someone who sincerely wanted to be a father — and as the person who made her a mother.
“Thank you for making me a mom,” Madeline said in a Wednesday, August 13, appearance on Good Morning America when asked what she would say to Matthew if he were around.
“For a long time, Matt has wanted kids, since I think he graduated college,” Madeline continued. “I was like, ‘Matt, we’re too young.’”
She also revealed that before she became pregnant with the couple’s only child, son Tripp, she suffered a miscarriage.
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“A lot of people don’t know but in January we got pregnant and had a miscarriage in February,” she said. “So then [we] got pregnant again in March with Tripp.”
Matthew, who was a professional hockey player, died in August 2024 along with his brother, Johnny, after the pair was struck by an alleged drunk driver while riding their bicycles in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. They were 31 and 29, respectively.
The brothers were supposed to be groomsmen in their sister Katie’s wedding the next day. The ceremony was postponed after the accident, and Katie eventually married husband Devin Joyce in July 2025.
Days after Matthew’s death, Madeline shared footage from the couple’s sex reveal, describing her husband’s excitement to be a father.
“The proudest dad. Matty couldn’t wait to be a dad,” she wrote via Instagram. “He never missed an appointment.”
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That December, Madeline announced Tripp’s arrival.
“Tripp Matthew 
,” Madeline wrote via Instagram on December 29. “Mommy & Daddy’s world.”
She added at his funeral that her new reality as a single mom is “debilitating.”
“Matt will surround his son for the rest of his life,” she said. “I’m so thankful God gave us a child, a little Matty, to run around for life, to carry on his legacy. Tripp will know how much his father loved him, and I promise to do all the things with him we talked about.”
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Now, an illustration of Matthew and Johnny overlooks Tripp’s crib, as Madeline revealed via Instagram in January, sharing a photo of herself putting her son down for a nap. She tagged Matthew in the photo.
Johnny’s wife, Meredith, gave birth to the couple’s third baby, Carter, eight months after the accident. The couple also shared daughter Noa, born in 2022, and son Johnny Jr., born in 2024. Meredith promised the brothers to look after Madeline and Tripp as well in Matthew’s absence.
“I don’t think John could live a day without you so I’m comforted knowing you are of course together in heaven,” she wrote via Instagram in August 2024. “Please continue to take care of John like you always have. I got Madeline and Tripp . We love you very much.”
