From climbing the world’s highest mountains to completing the toughest survival endurance races, Ashley Cain has certainly earned his ultra athlete status. And while he may look hard as nails, the former footballer does it all in memory of his late daughter, Azaylia, who passed away at just eight months old from leukaemia. Ashley’s ex-partner Safiyya Vorajee gave birth to Azaylia in August 2020 and the baby girl was diagnosed with cancer at eight weeks old.
In the years following Azaylia’s passing, he and Safiyya, who split up in March 2022, have raised millions for children with cancer via their charity, The Azaylia Foundation.
As we sit down for an exclusive chat, Ashley, 34, has just recovered from his incredible Ultraman feat, which saw him become the first person in history to run, then cycle and then kayak the length of Great Britain in 80 days. Detailing why he’s so passionate about projects like these, Ashley says, “I don’t want any child to have to feel my daughter’s pain. I was on those wards and I’d look in my room and see my daughter smiling at me, not knowing how bad her illness was. I used to walk out of my room and see all the beautiful children that are going through the same fight.
“No child should have to battle cancer and no family and parents should have to lose their child. So for me, that’s the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning. That’s why I do these challenges – to raise awareness and to raise funds for the foundation in the hope that it can make a difference.”
Not only is Ashley making a difference, but he admits that pushing himself to his limits also brings him closer to his daughter.
“When I’m on these challenges and when I’m isolated for days, I’m going through pain and at the point where I’m about to break – they are the times when I connect with her the most because I talk to her,” says Ashley, with a smile. “I talk to her all day and then I see the sky at the end of that day and I know she’s with me and I’m going to be safe. No matter how much pain I go through, it’s not as bad as the pain she went through. I love her more than anything that’s willing to stop me, so I’ll always push through.
“When you lose a child, you go through different stages of grief and in the first place it’s really raw because she’s not there in front of you. Then you start forgetting what she smells like and what she feels like. You feel guilty because you can’t do anything for your child – this is something I can do for her.”
While Ashley has had his hands full with physical challenges, he is also a father of two young sons – Aliyas, who turns one this week, and one-month-old Atlas – and has just marked his first Christmas with them. Lighting up at the mention of them, Ashley says, “They’re absolutely gorgeous – they are really helping heal my heart. Don’t get me wrong, they can keep you up at night, but it’s all worth it. I’m so grateful for them.”
Growing up as part of a close-knit family, the reality star, who has appeared in shows such as Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and The Real Full Monty, is keen to ensure his sons form a special bond and says they already have a “beautiful relationship”. “I know Azaylia would be absolutely besotted by them and they will by her when I tell them all of the stories about her,” he says.
Keeping Azaylia’s memory alive is something Ashley is passionate about and he says he often visits her resting place with Aliyas and Atlas. While he talks candidly about his experience of grief and healing, he admits he hasn’t processed his loss – and he hopes he never will.
“I hope I feel grief forever,” he says. “The thing is I’m not afraid of grief and I’m not trying to get away from it. I’m trying to navigate it and I’m trying to learn it, and to work out the best ways to cope and deal with it. But I know that in my grief is just my love – I’ll be grateful as long as I feel it. Sometimes, people try to get away from their grief, but it’d be a more beautiful process if they sat into it and realised it is just their love for that person.”
Something that has helped Ashley navigate his grief is fitness, as he admits it introduced meaning to his life during an incredibly difficult time. “Fitness saved my life,” he says. “I was actually seeing the world in grayscale and I think that was a part of trauma. But when I walked out of my house, I used to see a sunset to my left and a rainbow to my right, so I knew I had to be outside. I found that when I was outside, I was with Azaylia.”
Ashley’s passion for fitness is what drove him to partner with Primark on its new campaign, Unstoppable You. The high street brand has launched a new range of athleisure, which has had his seal of approval.
“The thing about fitness is that everyone should be able to get involved and Primark has the affordability without scrimping on quality,” he says. “With this range by Primark, it means everybody can get clothes that look good, perform well and take on fitness to help them in their lives.”
If anyone has tested out the range’s quality, it’s Ashley. “Look, I’ve completed the hardest endurance challenges in the world. I’ve been the first man in the history of the world to achieve stuff, so I’ve pushed my body and I really love the clothes. I was really surprised by how good they are.”
As for whether we’ll be seeing Ashley dig out his new outfits for any more challenges this year, it sounds like he’s got a few lined up. “I want to be the first man ever to kayak from New York to London, across the Atlantic Ocean – that’s my next goal,” he says, confidently. “I said that I’d fight for Azaylia ‘to the top of every mountain, to the bottom of every valley, across every road and along every ocean’, so I’ve got to start doing oceans now and keep my promise.”
Primark’s new performance collection is available on click and collect at primark.com and in all Primark stores
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