Some losses are against the natural order. The English language, or per se any language, does not have a particular word for bereaved parents. UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier has experienced such a loss, and probably, there is no greater grief than losing your offspring.
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As they say, the smallest coffins are the heaviest. In a recent podcast with Megan Olivi, DC revealed all the adversities he has faced along his journey and how they affected him and made him what he is today. One of them was the death of his 3-month-old daughter, Caden Cormier.
Daniel Cormier’s heartbreaking reflection on loss, time, and fatherhood
“It was the worst thing that I’ve ever dealt with in my entire life. Like there’s no… When you go through something like that, you realize how unfair life can be. But you also deal with something so bad that nothing else ever can hit you in the way that that did. Yeah, it sucked. It sucked really, really bad. Still to this day, I struggle with it and think about it.”
Caden was killed in a tragic car accident on the 14th of June. Reportedly, the driver was drunk, and hence the accident occurred.
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Daniel Cormier added with an emotional tone: “I look at a picture, and it’s on my mantel at my house. It’s like I’m sitting there as such a young kid. The pictures don’t lie, right? I’m sitting there with a full head of hair. My face is black. But I got to get to the gray. The baby didn’t. And that sucks. It really does. She’s just a memory in that time, that short, short time I had with her.”
In that sentence lies a deeply unsettling asymmetry. With DC aging, he finds it difficult to look at his 3-month-old baby and not see any difference in her age. This is a raw expression of a survivor’s grief.
“I think that also plays a part in why I am the dad that I am today because I’m so lucky to have had the opportunity to do it again,” said DC, with a heavy heart. Cormier is a father to two children now. Daniel II is frequently featured on social media and known as a wrestler. Marquita was born to Cormier and Deleon.
The collision of time is something that no one and nothing can stop. Time is moving forward for the living, and time that has permanently stopped for the lost. Cormier has achieved multiple accolades, and his story will be etched in the history of combat sports forever. But not all stories have happy beginnings. Let’s hear what Cormier has to say about his father in the next part.
Daniel Cormier recalls his father’s tragic death and the stepdad who changed his life
Daniel Cormier was 7 years old when his father was shot and killed on Thanksgiving Day in the year 1986. Although Cormier’s mother and his biological father had already gone their separate ways by then, it deeply affected Cormier.
“I remember the night when they called to tell my mom that that had happened and just the chaos that ensued. And I didn’t quite understand what was going on. Seven years old, like it just didn’t feel like death wasn’t familiar to me yet. But I remember like after the funeral, for some reason, I was crying and I had the worst migraine headache of my life. I still don’t think I’ve ever had one worse. And I just lay in bed, like almost like paralyzed in this house for hours,” said DC, remembering the cruel moments of his childhood.
Cormier was blessed with a wonderful stepdad, Percy Benoit, who helped shape DC into whatever he is today.
“I remember being in that bed crying and I remember him coming in that room. He sat on the bed, he would put his hand on me right as I was sad and I had this migraine headache. And remember him kind of trying to settle me and calm me. And I think I didn’t understand the strength that it took for him to see the woman he was with going through that time for a man that had moved on, but was her husband before and a man she had kids with. The strength that that man showed in that, to go in that room and comfort that other man’s kid while he was struggling. Dude’s the best man.”
The emotional complexity of DC’s life cannot be penned down in a few words. As DC reflects on his past situations, he remembers his stepfather, who played an important role in his life, and passed away from cancer in 2019.