'To know these two was to love these two': Gaudreaus speak out after brothers' deaths
Following the tragic loss of hockey players Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau to a suspected drunk driver, family members are speaking out about the brothers, their impact and bond.
"John and Matty. [You] don't hear one name without the other," Meredith Gaudreau, wife of Johnny Gaudreau, wrote in an Instagram post Sept. 1.
Paired with a slideshow of the brothers and various family moments, Meredith Gaudreau wrote of the brothers' relationship, saying they were always "hip to hip," and that the two were "absolute best friends and biggest fans of each other despite being opposite personalities."
More: Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew killed while riding bikes in SJ. What we know
Meredith Gaudreau thanked Matthew, "Matty," in her post, lauding him as being an "amazing" godfather and uncle to the pair's two children, Johnny, 7 months, and Noa, just shy of 2 years old.
"I can't wait to return the favor when I become Tripp's aunt," she wrote.
Matthew Gaudreau was expecting his first child with wife, Madeline, due in December.
The relationship between the two South Jersey natives is tangible in the way their families speak of them.
"I don't think Johnny could live a day without you so I'm comforted knowing you are of course together in heaven," Meredith wrote to Matthew in her post.
"I got Madeline and Tripp," she added.
Madeline Gaudreau replied: "Matty adored John just the same. I got you, Noa and Johnny."
'Thank you for the best years of my life'
Meredith Gaudreau also posted separate messages to her late husband, Johnny, crediting him as the best dad in the world and best partner.
"I love how much she looks like him," she wrote of daughter, Noa. He was the apple of her eye, she added.
"Thank you for the best years of my life," Meredith Gaudreau wrote under a photo of the family of four celebrating Johnny Gaudreau's 31st birthday. "Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours."
Photos in the slideshows feature the late hockey player with his children, family photos on the beach and old photos of the couple.
More: Suspect in Gaudreau accident worked at a rehab facility, employer says
'You are the best thing about me'
Madeline Gaudreau took to social media through a series of posts to express the pain of losing her husband, Matthew Gaudreau, and brother-in-law Johnny Gaudreau.
"I don't know my life without you. I have never experienced a pain like this. ...You are the best thing about me," she wrote under a photo of the smiling couple.
Another post featured memories with the two brothers.
"It was always Matty & John," the widow wrote. "I can't even put into words the bond these two had and right now I don't have the strength. ...I find extreme comfort in knowing they are together, as they always were."
"We will carry each other through every season," she wrote to her sister-in-law regarding the heartbreaking bond they now share.
'There are absolutely no words'
Under an Instagram carousel of family photos and memories, Katie Gaudreau mourned the sudden loss of her two big brothers.
"To know these two was to love these two," she wrote. "There are absolutely no words I have to express the bond my family shared."
Katie Gaudreau's wedding was scheduled to take place in Philadelphia just hours after the accident that took Johnny and Matthew's lives the night prior.
An Instagram page for sister Kristen Gaudreau, who is now Kristen Venello, was set to private.
More: A GoFundMe for expectant father Matthew Gaudreau has already shattered its goal
Love to the Gaudreau family
Since the early reports of the brothers' deaths Aug. 29, support, donations and tributes have been steadily pouring out for the family with deep ties to South Jersey's hockey scene.
Memorial sites were made at the Hollydell Ice Arena in Sewell, where the Gaudreau brothers learned to skate.
Other tributes were set up outside of the Nationwide Arena, home of the Blue Jackets, in Columbus, Ohio and Scotiabank Saddledome, home of the Calgary Flames in Alberta, Canada.
Commentors continue to take to social media to share their condolences, love and words of support for the Gaudreau family.
Kaitlyn McCormick writes about trending issues and community news across South Jersey for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times. If you have a story she should tell, email her at [email protected]. And subscribe to stay up to date on the news you need.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Gaudreau family remembers Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau on social media
