Sir Chris Hoy Breaks Down in Tears Recording Final Message for His Children — Heartbreaking Secrets He’s Leaving Behind Will Leave You Speechless
Posted by
–
June 13, 2025
Chris Hoy spoke out about his heartfelt message on Lorraine (Image: Photo by Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Sir Chris Hoy, in the final stages of his battle with terminal cancer, has been quietly preparing one last surprise for his children — birthday gifts carefully hidden in a secret room, ensuring that even after he’s gone, they’ll continue to feel his love. And in a deeply emotional moment, the cycling legend admitted he ‘shed a tear’ while recording his last message to them.
Speaking to Lorraine Kelly on her ITV daytime show, the six-time Olympic gold medallist revealed the emotional struggles he’s facing while bravely putting his children, Callum, nine, and Chloe, six, first in the wake of his devastating diagnosis. Hoy, now 48, opened up about the heartbreak of recording an audiobook passage meant to live on with his kids long after he’s gone.
As The Record reports, Chris detailed how he strives to keep life ‘as normal as possible’ for his family. His son Callum has been particularly anxious about his father’s chemotherapy, especially as Chris undergoes treatment with a “cold cap” to prevent hair loss — despite its discomfort — all to ease Callum’s fears.
The most heart-wrenching part? Hoy admitted that writing and recording his final message was almost too much to bear. His touching message reads: “Look after your mum. She’s the best person I’ve ever met on this planet and we’re all so lucky to have her in our lives. She will give you hugs from me. And I hope you will always feel the unconditional love and pride I have for you and know that you brought sunshine into my world simply by being yourselves.”
Chris confessed to Lorraine: “It wasn’t easy to write, and it was certainly even harder reading it for the audiobook. I was going line by line with a box of tissues beside me. But I got through it.
Adding a deeply personal touch, Chris and his wife Sarra created a blossom tree drawing where Callum and Chloe would add a blossom for each chemo session their father completed. “Every day during chemo, they placed a little blossom on it. Watching the tree slowly bloom was incredibly symbolic during those difficult times,” Chris shared
Speaking about his newly released book All That Matters, Chris explained: “It wasn’t an easy story to write. It was cathartic, but very emotional. It’s not a ‘poor me’ story — it’s about finding hope even in the darkest moments.”
Hoy has also turned his experience into a powerful campaign to raise awareness about Stage 4 cancer in men. Diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer in October, doctors estimate he has between two and four years left. Chris emphasized the importance of early PSA testing, especially for those with a family history like his.
“The threshold is usually 50, but with family history — my grandpa and dad had prostate cancer — I wish I’d been screened earlier. It’s nothing against my doctors, who have been amazing, but generally speaking, lowering the threshold could save many lives,” he stressed.
Chris also gave an update on his wife Sarra, who is bravely battling her own health struggles after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). “She’s doing incredibly well and refuses to wallow. She focuses on the here and now because we are stable. It’s about planning for the future but also cherishing the present,” Chris said.
Behind the scenes, Sir Chris Hoy’s quiet preparations for his children’s birthdays — wrapping gifts to be discovered in years to come, hiding them carefully in a secret room — show the depth of his love and devotion. And when he sat down to record a final message for his kids, the weight of it all finally broke him.