Ex-footballer Ashley Cain said he won't shave his beard because his late daughter played with it before she died.
The ex-footballer recently took on a gruelling Super Athlete Challenge to raise funds for his daughter's charity, The Azaylia Foundation. The organisation helps battle childhood cancer and was created after he and his ex-partner, Safiyya Vorajee, lost their child shortly after she was born.
Ashley appeared on Good Morning Britain where he said he would do everything in his power to continuously support the charity and families affected by cancer. During their conversation, presenter Kate Garraway asked the 31-year-old to explain the touching reason he won't shave his striking beard, stating it has ties to his daughter.
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He said: "So everyone asks me about the beard. It's a common question. When we were in the hospital we couldn't go out so I couldn't get a haircut so I ended up developing and growing this beard. As my daughter got older she used to hold it and rub her feet through it and because I haven't got her here with me anymore I wanted to keep my beard because she's touched these very hairs on my face.
He added: "I don't trim it, I don't shape it, I leave it because I feel like I'm like Samson and my beard is my strength."
Kate asked Ashley if he had anything to say to people watching who found themselves in a similar situation. He said: "This is a message for men and women who go through grief, trauma, stress and loss. We're all in this together. It's okay to not feel 100% every day because I don't and I know you don't either.
"You don't go through these problems and one morning and everything's gone. You take it day by day and you get through it."
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