LOSING a loved one is never easy, especially if it happens unexpectedly.

One young woman has revealed how her world came crashing down when her husband suddenly died – while she was 17 weeks pregnant.

Like many expectant mums, Sophie Ransom had been counting down the days until she gave birth.

She’d been with her husband Paul, 25, since they were teens and she was looking forward to a future with her family.

Heartbreakingly though, he would never get to meet their little one.

Looking back at their relationship, the 26-year-old described it as ‘near perfect’.

The couple met when they were just 19 after matching on Tinder in October 2016 and despite an instant connection, she had been hesitant to go for a drink.

"I said no at first," she said. "Because I wasn't just going to meet someone off a dating app."

But the pair bumped into each other by chance several nights later, when Sophie was out with her flatmate at a bar.

She said: "It was completely unplanned - we just met at a bar one night.

"It was lovely, he spent the whole night chatting to me and my friend - he came across as really kind."

Their relationship quickly blossomed and they got engaged in October 2021, marrying just a month later.

Having settled into married life, the project manager wasn’t worried when she woke up without Paul next to her on May 24, 2023.

Thinking her husband had gone to work early, she popped out for some milk and came home to a missed call from his boss.  

"I rang back, and the first thing he asked me was, 'is Paul okay?' "I said, 'well, you tell me - because he's not here.' "My stomach just dropped and I instantly had an intuition that something had happened."

Just 30 minutes later, the police knocked on her door.

It was then that Sophie, who was 17 weeks pregnant at the time, received the devastating news that Paul had been in a collision on his Suzuki motorbike.

"They told me, 'Paul's been in an accident, and he hasn't survived his injuries.' "I was in disbelief. I knew something would've happened, but I didn't think he'd be dead.

"I was thinking, worst case scenario, I'd have to look after him and the baby - but he didn't even make it to hospital."

The first few weeks after hearing the news were a ‘blur’, as she tried to organise the funeral as well as take care of their mortgage and bills.

On July 1, she attended the funeral along with 250 of her husband’s loved ones in a ‘beautiful crematorium surrounded by wildlife’.

The service was meant to be a celebration of his life, with Sophie explaining:

"It was sad, but I didn't want everyone's lasting memory to be really sad.”

She added: "The celebrant told loads of funny stories about him - and the final song was our first dance song, 'Can't Take My Eyes off You.' "It was a beautiful service - I even somehow managed to read a poem."

It was around this time Sophie started to feel her baby kick - which gave her an extra boost to start living life to the full again.

"I started to feel the baby move," she added. "That's when I thought, I've got to get on, I've got her to look after now, as well as myself."

Sophie gave birth to baby Poppy, who was 6lb 6oz, on October 28, 2023 - at 11:30 pm, via C-section.

Having welcomed her little girl, the mum-of-one now makes a conscious decision to get up everyday and ‘keep going’.

She told press:  "Life as a young widow is hard - it's the hardest thing I've ever done, and so exhausting.

"But there's happiness in my life every single day - and a privilege I get to keep on living for my daughter."