Christian Atsu's partner speaks out after his tragic death in Syria-Turkey earthquakes

The fiance of former Everton and Chelsea star Christian Atsu has spoken about the horror of finding out her beloved partner and father of her three children had perished in the Syria-Turkey earthquakes on February 6 2023.

Marie-Claire Rupio relived the heartbreak in an interview with The Athletic one year on from the tragic event, speaking about the impact it’s had on their family and the conversation no parent wants to have with their children.

Atsu was killed when his apartment collapsed as a result of the two earthquakes that hit southern Turkey and Syria in early 2023. He was among the 60,000 people killed in the natural disaster.

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Atsu was playing for Hatayspor club in Turkey’s Süper Lig.  His death was announced after 12-day search by his agent Murat Uzunmehmet after Atsu's body had been found in the rubble in Hatay, according to The Independent.

According to The Sun, Atsu had scored the match-winning goal for his team over the weekend and had called Marie-Claire and his children that night to tell them the great news. It was the family's last phone call as he would miss a planned call the following day.

Although she had heard reports about the disaster, Marie-Claire first heard that her fiance, also a star in the Ghanan international side, might be implicated in it from his twin sister Christina who called to inform that ‘his building has collapsed’.

“I was in shock, I thought, ‘That can’t be true’. I had to take the children out of school before it finished; I didn’t want them to hear it from anybody else.I told them there had been an earthquake where Daddy was playing and they haven’t found him yet. They deserved the respect to know everything. They were very upset and crying. I tried to stay positive and tell them he will be fine," she was quoted as saying by The Athletic.

She was relieved to hear as reports came through – confirmed by the Ghana FA and a Hatayspor official – that Atsu had been rescued and was in hospital. Sadly this was not the case, Atsu had not been recovered at all.

Atsu’s close friend and football agent Nana Sechere was on the scene, along with members of Atsu’s family including Christina, and was the first to break the news to her that Christian Atsu had been found dead.

"It was around 3am on Saturday, and when I saw Nana’s name come up on my phone I knew: this is it," Marie-Claire told The Athletic, also reported by The Sun. "I picked up and he was just crying. He said, ‘I’m so sorry’, and he couldn’t say anything more.

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“I needed to figure out how I was going to tell my kids that their dad is gone. It was terrible, there was so much going through my mind."

After taking them to football practice, Marie-Claire then revealed how she broke the news to Joshua (nine), Godwin (six) and Abigail (three). "It was heartbreaking, he was everything to them. Losing anyone is difficult, but we couldn’t even say goodbye," she told The Athletic. 

Atsu's body was flown back from the disaster to his native Ghana for the funeral in the capital city of Accra, where he was given a military guard of honour, according to The Sun. Marie-Claire attended with the children. While a truly emotional time, it would prove to be cathartic: "There was so much support and love showed to him," she said.  

Atsu's body was presented for the public to pay their respects, Marie-Claire added according to The Sun: "I didn’t want the kids to have that as the last image of him and they respected that, so we walked past with our heads down. I couldn’t process it; I just went through it."

“I know grieving has five stages, but I don’t know where I am at the moment. Sometimes I’m in denial, sometimes acceptance, it fluctuates and I feel like I’m not progressing," she told The Athletic. "I’ve lost my mum and my dad, but Christian leaving has had more impact on me than anything."

Atsu's charitable work in Ghana is being commemorated in March with the Christian Atsu Memorial Foundation. He had built a school and was funding a number of other projects.

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