Paige Fox, the widow of former Maori All Blacks player Sean Wainui, has shared an emotional tribute to her son, Kawariki, as he celebrated his seventh birthday. Wainui died in a car accident in 2021, leaving behind Fox, Kawariki, and his stepdaughter Arahia.
Wainui, who represented the Maori side in 10 matches, passed away in September 2021, just five days before his 26th birthday. The accident occurred when the car he was driving crashed into a tree at McLaren Falls Park near Tauranga, New Zealand. The case was treated as a suspected suicide.
Fox posted on TikTok about the increasing difficulty of celebrating birthdays without her husband. "As my babies get older, I find myself thinking less about my own grief and more about theirs," she wrote. "Birthdays have become the hardest. Not becos we don’t celebrate them we do. If anything I give them everything... But if I’m honest ... Sometimes I wonder if I’m trying to outrun the sadness. If somehow the perfect birthday could soften the absence of their dads who should be standing beside them."
She described a poignant moment during the birthday celebrations where she saw Kawariki staring into a blank space while the family sang "Happy Birthday." "I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking, seeing or feeling in this moment," Fox shared. "A look I’ve seen before on the rugby field, playgrounds & first day of school.. a piece of him that will always long for someone who should still be here. As a mum, that’s the weight I carry. & it’s not something I can fix."
Wainui played 109 professional rugby matches, including stints with the Chiefs and Crusaders. He married Fox in September 2020. Kawariki's seventh birthday marks his fifth celebrated without his father.