Ashley Cain reveals his grandmother has died and asks her to give his late daughter Azaylia ‘the biggest kiss and cuddle’ in heaven

Ashley Cain has announced that her grandmother has sadly passed away.

The Ex On The Beach star, who apologized for misogynistic language in old tweets that recently resurfaced, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share the news.

Sharing a photo of herself holding her grandmother’s hand, Ashley penned an emotional post, sharing her gratitude to her for shaping her into the man she is today and asking her to give her late daughter Azaylia the ‘biggest kiss and hug’ in heaven.

He wrote: ‘We said goodbye to my grandmother yesterday.

‘She wasn’t just my grandmother. She was my caregiver, my protector, my confidant, and in many ways my second mother.

‘She helped raise me, shaped me and loved me through every part of my life. Looking back now, I realize how much of the man I have become is based on the love he gave me.

‘He was the most kind-hearted man I have ever known. Everything he did was for someone else. She carried our family with quiet strength, endless compassion and complete dedication. ‘He never needed recognition or praise because making the people he loved happy was enough for him.’

The Ex On The Beach star, who apologized for misogynistic language in old tweets that recently resurfaced, took to Instagram to share the news.

He continued: ‘I remembered countless dinners where he would wait for me after school, how he would come to the garden to play football with me in the afternoons when no one else would, and even years later I would still find myself going to his house after training before taking him to church on a Sunday.

‘Looking back now, I realize it wasn’t just routine. These were the moments that became the foundation of my life.

‘It made me feel safe. He made me feel loved. She believed in me before the world knew my name and never stopped believing in me no matter where life took me.

‘The hardest thing about losing someone like him is knowing it will never happen again. People like my grandmother don’t come twice. They leave fingerprints on your soul that time can never erase.

‘If I carry even a fraction of her kindness, strength, faith and ability to love others unconditionally, then I know that she has never truly left me.

‘Thank you for every sacrifice you made, even though I was too young to appreciate it. Thank you for every meal, every hug, every prayer, every lesson, and every act of love that has helped shape my life. Thank you for giving me a childhood filled with warmth and a lifetime filled with memories that I will cherish forever.

‘You weren’t just an incredible grandmother. ‘You were one of the greatest blessings my life has ever known, and I hope you always knew how deeply loved you were.’

Ashley signed off the post by asking her grandmother to give her late daughter Azaylia a ‘kiss and hug’.

He wrote: ‘Please give Azaylia the biggest kiss and hug her and continue to watch over her for me in the skies above. Rest in eternal heaven, grandma. Until we meet again.”

The former Ex On The Beach star first became a father to Azaylia with his former partner Safiyya Vorajee, who tragically passed away from leukemia in April 2021 at the age of eight months.

It comes after Ashley released a statement on Monday night, saying she ‘can’t change her past’ after her misogynistic tweets and abuse allegations emerged.

The Ex On The Beach star came under fire after it was revealed he had made social media posts calling women ‘s**gs’, ‘s**ts’ and ‘psychopaths’ on his X account, which was later shut down.

The former footballer was subsequently sacked by the BBC and The Daily Mail announced on Monday that he had also been sacked by the board.

And in an Instagram statement, Ashley took responsibility for her actions, saying she ‘did not condone’ her past behavior.

In a lengthy statement, he began: ‘My community, You may have seen a recent article about the language I used years ago and wasn’t proud of. I don’t deny it. I don’t excuse this. And I definitely do not approve of this.

‘The truth is that these comments were made over a decade ago by a younger version of me who still had a lot of growing to do. I can’t change the past, and frankly I’ve never tried to hide from it.

‘I have always believed that responsibility is important. We must all take responsibility for our actions, good or bad.

‘But I also believe in growing, learning from our mistakes, and proving through our actions that who we once were doesn’t have to be who we remain.’

The former Ex On The Beach star first became a father to Azaylia with his former partner Safiyya Vorajee, who tragically passed away from leukemia in April 2021 at the age of eight months.

He went on to explain where he was at that time in his life after his football career fell apart and he turned to reality TV.

He continued: ‘At that time in my life, I was a young man watching his professional football dream disappear through injury. I felt lost, frustrated, and unsure of where my life was going.

‘Reality television gave me a second chance, but it also introduced me to a world I was unfamiliar with, where I was rewarded for developing a provocative personality. ‘None of this excuses what I said, but it is part of the reality of where I am and who I have become.’

Praising the women in his life, he wrote: ‘I was raised by incredible women. My mother, my grandmother, my aunt, my sister, my family, and so many others who love me, love me, support me, and have been by my side throughout my life. They taught me compassion, resilience, and respect long before I truly understood their value.

‘Looking back now, I can see many moments in my youth when I lacked maturity, perspective and understanding. Like many young men, I had lessons to learn, and life made me learn them.

‘The truth is that growth doesn’t happen overnight. It happens through experience. Through mistakes. Through difficulties. By being forced to look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are willing to get better.

‘Over the last ten years life has taught me lessons that no amount of fame, success or publicity can ever teach. ‘I became a father.’

Azaylia was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and had tumors in her lungs, stomach, and kidneys.

He underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, but sadly passed away on April 24, 2021.

Reflecting on the tragedy, Ashley wrote: ‘I experienced a love so powerful it changed every part of me. Then I experienced pain so devastating it almost destroyed me. Losing my daughter changed me forever.

‘When you sit next to your child and watch them fight for their life, everything that once seemed important suddenly becomes unimportant. The ego disappears. The image disappears. The noise disappears.

‘What remains is perspective. What remains is the purpose. What remains is to understand what is truly important.’

Since her passing, Ashley has turned her career towards extreme ultra-endurance challenges to raise funds for childhood cancer research.

Meanwhile, he and Azaylia’s mother Safiyya Vorajee couple founded the Azaylia Foundation in August 2021. The foundation is dedicated to raising awareness, funding vital research, and providing unforgettable experiences for children battling cancer.

He wrote: ‘Since then I have dedicated my life to honoring my daughter’s legacy and helping others in any way I can. Supporting children and families facing childhood cancer. Raising money that can help save lives. Talking openly about grief, trauma, resilience and mental health.

‘Not because I’m perfect, but because I know what it feels like to be broken, and I know what it takes to keep moving forward when life gives you every reason not to move forward.’

Revealing he received abuse during the hardest parts of his life, he added: ‘There were moments when the weight of everything felt unbearable. But life taught me something through this pain.

‘Pain can make you hurt or make you better. I chose better. It’s not because I’m special. Not because I deserve thanks. But because I know that carrying anger, resentment, and hatred will only create more.

In a long caption he wrote: ‘The truth is that growth doesn’t happen overnight. It happens through experience. Through mistakes. ‘Despite the difficulties’

He wrote: ‘I can’t change what I said ten years ago. What I can do is take responsibility for this. What I can do is continue to strive every day to be a good father, a good person, and a positive force in the lives of others.

‘I forgave too. I grew up. I have matured. And I focused my energy on being someone my daughter would be proud of.’

He added: ‘I can’t change what I said ten years ago. What I can do is take responsibility for this. What I can do is continue to strive every day to be a good father, a good person, and a positive force in the lives of others.

‘The reason I can connect with people who are struggling, especially young men, is not because I’ve lived a perfect life. Because I didn’t. I made mistakes. I experienced loss. I faced the consequences of this. I learned lessons the hard way.

‘And through it all, I’ve learned that real growth doesn’t mean pretending your past never happened. The important thing is to have it, learn from it and become better because of it.

‘Thank you to everyone who has reached out with support, compassion and encouragement. Your messages mean much more than you think.

‘My commitment is the same as always: to live with integrity, continue to grow, and help others as much as I can. I can’t change the past. None of us can. But every morning when I wake up, I can choose the man I want to be and the impact I want to make on the world around me.

‘This is what I’ve been trying to do for years and I’ll keep moving forward. Peace, love and respect.’

Ashley was sacked from the BBC last week after they admitted they had ‘clearly failed’ to vet the star.

He hosted the series Into The Danger Zone on BBC Three, in which he traveled around the world to the most dangerous places and interviewed young men living on the fringes of society.

His management company, Off Limits Group, also dropped him as a client.