Ashley Cain has issued his response after his ex-girlfriend, Safiyya Vorajee, shared details about their split amid baby news.
The pair suffered a monumental loss after they lost their child back in 2021, at just eight-months-old.
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Little Azaylia was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer with tumours having grown on her lungs, stomach and kidneys. She sadly passed away after undergoing several rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
Ashley, 33, and Safiyya later set up The Azaylia Foundation in honour of their little girl, before making the decision to end their relationship following a difficult time supporting each other through grief.
Earlier this week, Safiyya opened up about her grief and how she navigated her relationship with Ashley afterwards.
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The 36-year-old told The Sun he dumped her 'quick and brutal' before asking her for another baby.
"He’d had a drink, it was quick and brutal. He said he couldn’t do it any more," she said.
The Real Full Monty star then moved out of the family home in Warwickshire with Safiyya recalling: "He moved in with his aunt and later on I did, because his family had become my family and I was struggling on my own. We had separate rooms."
According to Safiyya, Ashley later suggested they had another baby, explaining: "I didn’t want a baby to think they’d been born because I wanted Azaylia. I wanted to fill a void. It had to be as a proper family.
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"I know Azaylia would say to me, 'Mummy, you deserve that family, that wholesome unit.'"
Safiyya eventually moved out of Ashley’s aunt’s house and bought her own home.
Talking about Ashley, she continued: "We spoke nearly every day about the Foundation. We would hug like friends. I was waiting for him to say, 'Let’s get back together, let’s have that baby'. I never asked him though. I didn’t want to push him away."
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Ashley, instead, told Safiyya he was becoming a dad again with another woman which he wasn't in a relationship with.
"He didn’t tell me who she was and, again, I would not ask," Safiyya revealed, adding: "That’s the heartbreaking thing about it. Even when he told me, I put him first so he didn’t feel guilty for telling me. Inside I was screaming and crying."
Ashley previously opened up about the 'painful' conversation with Safiyya when delivering the news, telling The Sun: "It was painful for Safiyya but it was also painful for me as well to talk to her.
"We haven’t been together for a while now and it is inevitable that at some stage people are going to move on with their lives - that doesn’t mean that we can’t be friends and have an amazing relationship.
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"I know Safiyya will always support me and I will always be there to support Safiyya."
Ashley has since shared a statement to his fans on social media, saying: "Just because I don't speak, doesn't mean I can't speak, just means I choose not to.
"Protection of the things and people I love that are in, have been or will be in my life will always come above and beyond anything else.
"No matter how many stones get thrown, or how hard they hurt, I will always stand on that."
He also reposted a comment made in defence of him to his Instagram story, per The Mirror.
The message read: "All these judgemental, horrible, got nothing better to do except put down a grieving father because he has moved on need to get a frigging life.. just because you don't see him crying or being sad does not mean he is okay.
"He has lost a child too... the comments on his post are disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself for judging a man that takes all his strength just to be alive. Take it from another grieving parent."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
Topics: Ashley Cain, Celebrity, Parenting, Sex and Relationships, Pregnancy
Rhiannon Ingle