A man had dreamt of raising children with his high school sweetheart, who eventually became his wife, but his life took an unexpected turn when she suddenly collapsed in the hospital 27 hours after giving birth to their daughter.

When Matthew Logelin was in high school, he met the “perfect” girl, Liz Logelin, and he married her eight years later. They were in a long-distance relationship during college but moved in together after graduating.

They tied the knot in 2005 after completing their master’s degrees, dreaming of spending the rest of their lives together. Little did they know that an unexpected tragedy would force them to part ways a few years later.

Matthew Logelin. | Source: youtube.com/Rachael Ray Show

Matthew thought everything about his wife was perfect. She knew how to cheer him up when he was sad and understood him more than anyone else. He knew he had married the right woman, but fate’s cruel plans didn’t allow them to stay together very long.

Matthew discovered that his wife was pregnant with their first baby two years after they wed. He felt he was the luckiest man on the planet because raising children with his high school sweetheart was an experience he looked forward to.

Since most of their family lived away and couldn’t visit them frequently, Matthew created a website where he regularly posted updates about Liz’s pregnancy. At that point, he had no idea the blog would soon become a significant part of his life.

After learning about her difficult pregnancy, the doctors put Liz on bed rest, and she was called into the hospital for a C-section at 33 weeks. Meanwhile, Matthew kept his family and friends updated by posting on the website.

Fate never gave him a chance to say goodbye to his best friend or tell her how much he loved her.

On March 24, 2008, Matthew announced the arrival of their newborn daughter, Madeline Logelin. It was the best day of his life when he saw his little bundle of joy for the first time.

However, the doctors kept Madeline in the NICU because she was born prematurely, while Liz stayed in her hospital room until the next day. Liz had only seen her daughter for a few seconds after giving birth, but no one knew that her first glance would also be her last.

Matthew kept switching between the NICU and Liz’s hospital room to ensure both were doing well. He kept updating his wife about Madeline and teased her about being ahead of her in caring for their daughter. He recalled what happened next:

“24 hours after [Madeline] was born, Liz got up for the first time to see her, and as we were to head to the NICU ward…”

The nurses helped Liz get out of bed, and she began walking inside the room when something unexpected happened. “She collapsed and fell to the floor. And it became apparent that she was not going to make it,” Matthew added.

Madeline Logelin. | Source: youtube.com/Rachael Ray Show

Later that day, Matthew learned the most devastating news of his life—his soulmate closed her eyes forever. She had succumbed to pulmonary embolism 27 hours after giving birth to Madeline.

“That wasn’t how this was supposed to happen,” Matthew said while recalling the most painful moments of his life. Fate never gave him a chance to say goodbye to his best friend or tell her how much he loved her.

Liz’s sudden death turned Matthew’s world upside down. He was expected to live without his wife and raise their daughter alone. He couldn’t count on Liz to make dinner for him or change their daughter’s diapers. He had to do everything on his own. Matthew recalled:

“It was incredibly difficult to be going through the death of my wife and my best friend but also having this great joy of having a brand new daughter.”

Matthew began posting regular updates on his website to share his feelings with his family and show them how he looked after his daughter. Little did he know that months later, thousands of netizens would read his blog and give him parenting advice.

Matthew was overwhelmed by the response he got from his readers, and it encouraged him to post even more, including tips and tricks on how to travel with a toddler.

The loving father kept a record of his parenthood journey through the website, hoping Madeline would read everything twenty years later and realize that her father tried his best never to let her feel Liz’s absence.

Years later, Matthew published his life story in a book that became a New York Times bestseller. The single parent penned down his feelings about losing his high school sweetheart and raising his daughter alone.

Although the tragedy strengthened Matthew’s bond with his daughter, he still cannot stop thinking about Liz. He confessed to seeing her reflection in Madeline and vowed to keep reminding her how wonderful of a person her mother was.

“The hardest thing about being by myself after Liz died was just not having her around me when she wasn’t here to share the joys of having our brand new daughter with us,” he confessed. His journey as a single parent was harrowing, but he raised Madeline in the best way possible.

One of the things Matthew did to make Madeline learn more about her mother was to travel with her to the same places that he once visited with Liz. “It’s those kinds of things I think that a lot of kids don’t get to know about until they are much older,” Matthew said.

Madeline often asked questions about Liz that would send him down memory lane, but he never broke down until Liz asked him, “Daddy, did you hold mommy’s hand when she died?”

In 2021, Matthew’s story was featured in the Netflix movie “Fatherhood,” based on Matthew’s book, “Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love.”

And after spending years as a single parent, Matthew finally married the well-known producer and writer Lizzie Molyneux in 2018 and had a daughter, Madz, with her.

We wish Matthew all the best in his life and hope he continues to inspire people with his resilience and strength. Losing one’s wife hours after the birth of one’s daughter is undoubtedly one of the most heartbreaking moments a man can experience.

Click here to read another story about a single mother who carried her disabled son on her back while traveling the world to give him the best life she could.