In 2016, Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana Ramsay went through a loss of pregnancy, something that no couple of parents should ever go through. The Ramsays, who had four children at the time and were eager to expand their family for the first time in 15 years, had big plans, but a miscarriage derailed them.

In a tragic and devastating Facebook post on June 13, 2016, Gordon and Tana Ramsay wrote, “We had a devastating weekend as Tana sadly miscarried our son at five months.” “While we are all healing together as a family, we want to thank everyone once more for their incredible support and good wishes.

They later disclosed that they called their newborn baby Rocky and ultimately made the decision to try for a fifth time; on April 4, 2019, they welcomed Oscar James into the world. He joined his four older siblings, Megan, 25, the twins Jack Scott and Holly Anna, 23, Matilda ‘Tilly,’ 21, and the couple’s first kid in 18 years.

Gordon Ramsay spoke candidly in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine this week about his unborn son, Rocky, and how the loss of the pregnancy brought him, his wife, and their entire family closer together. It’s not the first time he (or his wife) has spoken about the loss, but it is the most recent.

The death of Rocky was extremely difficult because there is no book that can help you get over it. It’s this life-changing moment watching the pain play out,” Gordon remarked in the interview, which will appear in newspapers on Friday, September 22. Nevertheless, his family has adopted it as their own over the years.

In addition to naming their property in Cornwall (a region of South West England) after their unborn child, Gordon said that every member of his family—his wife, himself, and their kids—wears jewelry that has Rocky’s name. These are only two examples of the daily ways people pay tribute to what never was.

“Had we not lost Rocky, we wouldn’t have received Oscar. Far from being a substitute, it gave us a bond that you wouldn’t find in a typical circumstance, Gordon continued. Oscar, their son, turned four in April and is already beginning to look a lot like his father.

Gordon Ramsay, like he usually has, immediately praised his wife for her strength after learning of the pregnancy loss in 2016. He talked about how his kids “get a lot of strength” from her and how that resilience has kept their family together during the worst of circumstances.

“That is Tana’s power. She was great right away, just by witnessing how she handled it and opened up to other friends and ladies nearby who could offer guidance, he said of his wife. They originally connected in the 1990s began dating after a few years, and got married in 1996.

Tana Ramsay posted a ‘happy snapshot’ of her, her husband, and their four children on June 11 on Instagram. At the time, she was just under 20 weeks pregnant with Rocky, and the family was also celebrating Megan’s 18th birthday (she is now 25 years old). Before finding out about the miscarriage, it had been a few days.

“A few days later, I would be holding our newborn son Rocky, who had a healthy heartbeat but was too small to live. Even though it has been seven years, it still seems recent. Every day, we all miss you. Rocky, you will always have our love. Without my family, who mean the world to me, I couldn’t do this, she wrote.