Johnny Gaudreau’s widow, Meredith Gaudreau, will forever keep the hockey star close to her heart following his death.
“I have John’s autograph tattooed here,” Meredith, 34, told People in an interview published Thursday, August 27, pointing to her wrist. “He actually wrote it out just for me one day when I needed it for a playoff jacket. So, when I wanted to get this tattoo, this is the one that I used because he wrote this specifically just for me, so I like this.”
The former Columbus Blue Jackets athlete and Meredith, who shared three children, were married for three years until his sudden death in August 2024. Johnny and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, were killed in a fatal bike crash. They were 31 and 29, respectively.
Following the brothers’ deaths, Meredith got her very first tattoos in tribute.
“I have our kids’ names here [on my tricep],” she told People. “I was able to do a cremation tattoo, where they used some of John’s ashes with the ink.”
Meredith also added her wedding date, written in Roman numerals, higher up on her arm.
“I never had tattoos before, so sometimes I catch myself off-guard,” she mused. “I also have a tattoo [for my brother-in-law] Matty. He was also very important to me, and it’s another part of this whole journey.”
Meredith continued, “Sometimes I, obviously, find myself really engulfed in my grief for John, but I miss [Matthew] a lot, too. He was a really special uncle for my kids [and he was my daughter] Noa’s godfather, and they spent a lot of little moments together. I always want to make sure that everything I do honors the both of them.”
In addition to Meredith and her three children, Johnny and Matthew are survived by their parents and two sisters. Matthew was also the father of son Tripp, whom his wife, Madeline Gaudreau, welcomed months after the siblings’ death.
Johnny and Matthew’s relatives have since remained committed to keeping their legacy alive almost two years following their deaths.
“I don’t think people throughout the hockey world — throughout South Jersey to Columbus to Calgary — I don’t think they realize how much they did for us,” mom Jane Gaudreau exclusively told Us in April. “By them talking to us and bringing them into their world and seeing what they could do for us or how they could help keep John and Matty’s legacies alive, they just helped us so much with our grief.”
