Indianapolis Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward and his girlfriend, Monique Cook, have welcomed another baby together, two years after the death of their 23-month-old daughter, Amani.
“Chosen Mani Ward 🤎🧸,” Cook wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, October 7, alongside a carousel of photos and videos of their newborn son.
In the first image, Chosen is wearing a onesie with the words “Baby Brother” stitched across the chest in an apparent tribute to Amani.
Ward, 30, was first in the comments, writing, “Say Twinnnnn.”
The welcome news comes just under two years after the couple announced that Amani had died.
“We are heartbroken that our beautiful baby girl, Amani Joy passed away on Monday morning. She was the best blessing we could have asked for, and her joyous spirit made us smile from ear to ear,” Ward wrote via Instagram at the time. “She taught us to have patience, trust, and a positive outlook on life. She showed us true strength and bravery. She overcame adversity at a young age and was always happy, lighting up every room with her smile.”
He continued, “Having the privilege of being her parents and seeing the world through her eyes has changed us for the better. She will forever be daddy’s best friend and mommy’s little girl. We’ll miss you and love you forever, Amani Joy.”
A cause of death for Amani has not been publicly revealed. Ward previously detailed her history of medical problems, which included heart problems and heart surgery, as well as a Down syndrome diagnosis.
Just over a year after Amani’s death, Ward wished her a “happy heavenly birthday” via his Instagram Story, where he also admitted he hasn’t “been happy since you left us. God was wrong for this 💔.”
“F*** football. F*** this money. F*** any type of fame,” he wrote on a subsequent slide. “Don’t care for none of it. Lost without my baby. Amani Joy Ward XOXOXO.”
Ward, who is in his ninth NFL season, was playing for the San Francisco 49ers at the time of Amani’s death. The next offseason, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts, telling reporters that the heartbreak he and Cook endured made him more willing to leave California.
“You know, I’ve got a lot of trauma in California,” he said in January 2025. “There were great times, but the worst thing that’s happened to me — that’s probably ever gonna happen to me, knock on wood — happened in California.”
He continued, “It just brings back bad memories. Every time I get on a plane to come back to California, San Jose, here, it’s just a bad memory. I go through that every night by myself because my girl doesn’t want to come back to California because of what happened.”
