The widow of late hockey player Johnny Gaudreau has spoken out publicly for the first time since he was killed in a bike accident.
On Saturday, Aug. 31, Meredith Gaudreau released a statement about her husband’s death, sharing two posts on Instagram where she paid tribute to him as a husband and father.
“Thank you for the best years of my life. Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours. I love you so so much,” she began the caption of the first post.
Meredith continued, adding “You were perfect. Some days it felt too good to be true. I love every single thing about you. You are my forever and I can’t wait to be with you again. I love you so much forever and ever.”
Alongside her emotional tribute to her husband, she posted a carousel of images, beginning with a photo of herself and Johnny with their two children, and showing sweet moments from the couple’s time together.
In a second post, Meredith honored Johnny as a dad, describing him as the “best partner” to be a parent with and sharing that he was the “best” at putting their baby son to bed and was the “apple” of their daughter’s eye.
“The absolute best dad in the world. So caring and loving. The best partner to go through parenthood with. John never missed a single appointment,” she wrote, adding, “Was the best at putting the baby to sleep and the Apple of Noa’s eye. I love how much she looks like him. We are going to make you proud. We love you so so so much daddy.”
Her second tribute to her husband also included a number of photos of Johnny with the couple’s children — they share daughter Noa, who turns 2 in October, and son Johnny, 7 months — over the years, including on outings and watching him play hockey.
On Aug. 29, the NHL star, 31, and his brother Matthew Gaudreau, 29, died in a biking accident in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, close to their hometown of Salem County, PEOPLE confirmed. They were reportedly in their hometown to serve as groomsmen in their sister Katie Gaudreau’s wedding on Aug. 30, according to a wedding website.
Johnny and Matthew were biking on Country Route 551 North just after 8 p.m. when a driver suspected to be under the influence of alcohol attempted to pass another car and fatally hit the brothers, New Jersey State Police said in a statement provided to PEOPLE at the time.
The driver, Sean M. Higgins, was charged with two counts of death by auto and arrested, and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
The statement confirmed the suspect had been traveling in a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind a sedan and SUV.
“Higgins attempted to pass the slower-moving sedan and SUV, entered the southbound lanes of travel, passed the slower-moving sedan, and attempted to re-enter the northbound lanes of travel when the SUV in front of Higgins moved to the middle of the roadway, splitting the north and south lanes to safely pass the two pedal cyclist traveling north on the right side of the roadway,” police said.
“Higgins then attempted to pass the SUV on the right and struck the two pedal cyclists in the rear. As a result of the collision, the two pedal cyclists sustained fatal injuries,” the statement added.
