Two widows share husbands' suicide stories to push for change in sport

Debbie Beard and Amanda Thorpe, united by grief, met in person for the first time at an event hosted by the Prince of Wales and the Royal Foundation. Both women lost their husbands to suicide and spoke with BBC business editor Simon Jack about their experiences, supporting a new resource called "On Your Side" aimed at embedding suicide prevention into sport's culture.

Matt Beard, former Liverpool Women manager, died in hospital on 20 September 2025, a month after leaving his role as Burnley Women manager, a post he had held for only two months. An inquest into his death has not yet concluded. Graham Thorpe, the former England and Surrey cricketer, took his own life in 2024 after losing his job as a batting coach in 2022 and spiralling into depression.

Struggles hidden from loved ones

Amanda said Graham had already been struggling with mental health during the Covid period, undergoing therapy and medication. After losing his job, worsened by a leaked video from a team trip, he declined rapidly. Amanda only learned he had mentioned suicide after he made a serious attempt on his own life.

Debbie recalled that Matt often hid his struggles, telling her he was fine because he didn't want to worry the family. After his sacking, he began drinking more and taking greater risks.

Both women said sport focuses heavily on physical wellbeing while neglecting mental health, and called for accessible, trustworthy support to be available when people ask for help. They said they plan to keep meeting and speaking out together to help prevent other families from going through the same loss.