Jordanna Barrett and Shaquil Barrett. | Source: Getty Images

Linebacker Shaquil Barrett’s wife Jordanna has stood by her man through thick and thin and had to work three jobs to help support the family before he became an NFL star.

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Fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett know that he has been married to Jordanna Barrett since 2012, and the couple welcomed four children.

What many may not know is that during the lean years before Shaquil became an NFL star player, Jordanna Barrett had to work very hard to help provide for their family.

Shaquil Barrett of Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. | Source: Getty Images|

Shaquil Barrett of Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. | Source: Getty Images|

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In 2021, linebacker Shaquil Barrett signed a four-year contract $72 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but when he and Jordanna married in 2012, he was playing college football for Colorado State.

Just days after Jordanna posted a sweet snap of little Arrayah celebrating her second birthday, the news broke that the baby had drowned.

The teenage couple struggled financially, with Jordanna sometimes working three jobs to make ends meet, while Shaquil did his utmost to become a pro player.

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By the time Shaquil was finally established as a valuable player, the couple had three children, and their youngest was born in 2021. The Barretts’ unswerving faith had been rewarded and the future looked sunny.

But on April 30, 2023, tragedy struck the devout family. Their youngest daughter died in a drowning accident, eleven days after celebrating her second birthday.

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Jordanna Barrett Lived within the Foster Care System

Hard times are nothing new to Jordanna Barrettt. She was born on November 1992, and two months later, she was in the foster care system.

Jordanna is one of the lucky ones who found a family with Angie Busch and her husband Jeff. The woman Jordanna calls mom works for Christ For the City International in Omaha.

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The organization funds missions to bring health care and education to some of the world’s poorest and most troubled communities. It’s no wonder the Barretts founded the Fifty 50 Foundation to help children in foster care.

The Foundation was created to support and help children in foster care and encourage the adoption of thousands of children who need homes.

Jordanna Barrett and Shaquil Barrett at the 9th Annual NFL Honors in 2020, in Miami, Florida. | Source: Getty Images

Jordanna Barrett and Shaquil Barrett at the 9th Annual NFL Honors in 2020, in Miami, Florida. | Source: Getty Images

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Jordanna and Shaquil Barrett Met Back in 2010

The couple met in 2010 when Shaquil was playing college ball for Colorado State, and married in 2012 at the local courthouse. It wasn’t exactly the dream wedding Jordamma had been hoping for.

That same year, the Barretts’ first child was born, and with all their hopes pinned on Shaquil making it to the NFL, the two nineteen-year-olds struggled to survive.

Jordanna found work as a nanny from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., she barely had time to spend with her baby and her husband before racing off to her second job as a manager at Taco Bell until 1 a.m., and she still found time to do random odd-jobs for extra cash.

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It seemed the couple’s hopes were dashed in 2014 when Shaquil went undrafted and joined the Denver Broncos as a free agent with a 1-year-contract. By then, the Barretts had two children: Shaquil Jr. and Braylon.

In 2016, Jordanna and Shaq renewed their vows in the wedding of her dreams, and Shaquil kept working to prove his worth with the Broncos until the Buccaneers offered him a 1-year-contract in 2019.

For Shaquil, it meant that he could give their children — sons Shaquil Jr., born in 2012, and Braylon, 2013, and daughters Aaliyah born in 2015, and Arrayah in 2021 a better life than he had growing up in grinding poverty in Baltimore.

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Jordanna Barrett and Her Husband Tragically Lost a Child

Just days after Jordanna posted a sweet snap of little Arrayah celebrating her second birthday, the news broke that the baby had drowneddrowned in the family pool in Tampa ng of April 30.

First responders rushed the baby to the hospital but all attempts at reanimation failed, and little Arrayah was pronounced dead.

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The Buccaneers posted a notice on their website announcing the Barretts’ loss, expressing heartfelt condolences, and thousands of fans expressed their sympathy and grief.

Heartbreakingly, the last post on Shaq’s Instagram account is a photo of little Arrayah from her Baby Shark-themed birthday party.

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