Cincinnati Bengals guard Dalton Risner and his wife, Whitney, shared devastating news on Friday: they lost their baby boy at 16 weeks into the pregnancy.
The announcement came just four weeks after Whitney had posted the couple’s happy news that they were expecting their first child. At the time, she wrote, “Baby Risner, we can’t wait to meet you this year!”
Whitney later returned to Instagram with an emotional message about the loss, thanking people for their love and support while also speaking directly to other families who have gone through the same kind of pain. “I wish I was writing any other post than this right now,” Whitney wrote. “I never imagined our journey to starting a family would begin like this.”
She described the grief in raw terms, saying the experience has changed her in ways she never expected. “This loss has introduced me to a depth of pain and heartbreak that I never knew existed,” she wrote. “It feels like I’ve lost so much… our precious baby boy, pieces of myself, and the future I had planned out for the past 4 months.”
Faith is part of how she’s trying to carry the moment, even with the uncertainty ahead. “I don’t know exactly what the future holds, and that uncertainty is incredibly hard. But even in the midst of heartbreak and grief, I know God is still good,” she wrote.
Whitney also made clear how much Dalton has meant through the ordeal. “More than ever, I’ve realized how important it is who you marry and choose to walk through life with,” she said. “I truly can’t imagine getting through this without my rock and best friend, @dalton_risner66.”
She added that this was the couple’s “second loss in just a couple of months.” Whitney, a former college basketball player who founded the jewelry company WAAWEES and has more than one million TikTok followers, closed her message by thanking friends, family, and supporters for their prayers and kindness. She also offered a final note to others facing similar heartbreak: “If you’re walking this same painful road, I want you to know that you are not alone,” she wrote.
Risner joined the Bengals in 2025 after stints with the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings. He entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick in 2019 and has started 93 regular season and postseason games.
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