Loss of baby Willow ‘still raw’ for Rohan

Three years ago she and ex-husband, Geelong footballer Gary Rohan, lost their twin daughter Willow Nevaeh five hours after birth from a rare neural tube defect known as anencephaly.Willow is survived by her twin sister, Bella, 3, and Sadie, 1.“It is still raw and everyone heals differently but I feel like from the moment I found out about her I wanted her legacy to live on in the hope of helping others who have been there and bottled up emotions,” Rohan said.“There’s so much healing that comes from sharing. There was a moment where I wasn’t opening up to how much I was struggling and I had separation anxiety from Bella. “I didn’t want to stay stagnant, my girls are growing up and I’m getting there one day at a time.”Rohan has partnered with children’s ballet brand Flo Dancewear to release a bespoke red tutu dress to raise awareness around October’s Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month.All proceeds from the Willow Ray tutu dress will be donated to Red Nose Australia.“It’s a bit of a nod to my dancing past, I danced for 10 years,” Rohan said.“It’s really special watching the girls dancing around in a tutu I created, it takes me back to my childhood. It’s quite tulip, a bit softer red. I wanted to relay it back to Willow because I always say she’d be calm and I really want to reflect her.”The Willow Ray tutu is available from flodancewear.com.au and theiconic.com.au