The Gaudreau brothers grew up in hockey and spent a year together as teammates at Boston College in 2013-14.
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Sisters-in-law Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau are supporting each other amid their shared heartache and also honoring their husbands' close relationship just days after Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were killed by a suspected drunk driver on the eve of their sister's wedding in New Jersey.
Meredith Gaudreau has shared several Instagram posts this weekend paying tribute to her late NHL star husband, calling him the absolute best dad in the world. The pair shared daughter Noa Harper, who turns 2 this month, and 7-month-old son Johnny Edward. In her latest post, she focused on the Gaudreau brothers and how close they always were.
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"John and Matty. [You] don't hear one name without the other. Always side by side. Even in large group settings, [you] can find them hip to hip. John's younger brother- but he looked up to Matty and relied on him for [everything]. And Matty was always there. Absolute best friends and biggest fans of each other despite polar opposite personalities,' she wrote alongside a carousel of pictures. "Everyone wanted to be around them, including me. I would sit back and watch John genuinely love his time with his brother."
She went on to address her brother-in-law directly, writing, "Matty, thank you for loving our babies like your own and for being such an amazing uncle and godfather. I can't wait to return the honor when I become Tripp's aunt."
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"I don't think John could live a day without you so I'm comforted knowing you are of course together in heaven. Please continue to take care of John like you always have. I got Madeline and Tripp," she added of her sister-in-law and future nephew. "We love you very much."
Matthew Gaudreau's wife Madeline is currently expecting the couple's first child, a son due in December to be named Tripp.
Madeline commented on Meredith's post, writing, "I love this. Matty adored John just the same. I got you, Noa and Johnny."
She later went on make her own post on Instagram about how the Gaudreau brothers were always together, and how she and Meredith would be there for each other and their kids.
"It was always Matty & John. I can't even put into words the bond these two had and right now I don't have the strength. They were each others biggest cheerleaders. Matt looked up to John in so many ways but the most important was the father he was to Noa & Johnny. I find extreme comfort knowing they are together, as they always were. I know they are still messing with each other up there and will continue to look over their families," she wrote before addressing her sister-in-law directly.
"To Meredith- we will forever share this extreme heartbreak and terrible bond...however, the boys couldn't have picked stronger [women] as their wives and mothers of their children. We will carry each other through every season...as the boys would do for each other. They blessed us with children...through them we will always have a part of them earth side with us forever."
"I love you my handsome husband, I love you John, I love you Meredith, I love you Noa, I love you Johnny and I love you baby Tripp."
More on the Gaudreaus
Each couple each got married in 2021 -- Matthew and Madeline wed in July of that year, with Johnny and Meredith following suit just two months later in September.
Johnny Gaudreau had turned 31 a little more than two weeks before his death, while his brother Matthew would have turned 30 in December.
The brothers shined on and off the ice, and their tragic deaths continue to send shockwaves across the sports world and more locally in the communities where they made the most impact in their lives.
