Bode Miller, 40, suffered the worst tragedy any parent can ever have when his precious 19-month-old daughter Emeline — nicknamed Emmy — accidentally drowned in a swimming pool while he and his family were attending an Orange County, CA neighbor’s party on June 10. The ski racing legend and wife of five years Morgan Beck also have a three-year-old son Nash and another baby on the way, due in Oct. of 2018. Right now the family is going through unimaginable sadness mourning the loss of the adorable blonde toddler, which he announced in a heartbreaking Instagram post. We’ve got five things to know about the storied athlete and dad.
1. Bode has two other children by two different moms.
Before settling down with Morgan, Bode had a 10-year-old daughter Neesyn Dacey — known as Dace — with ex-girlfriend Chanel Johnson, and five-year-old son Samuel “Nate” Bode Miller-McKenna with ex Sarah McKenna. The blended siblings get along great, as brothers Sam and Nash especially very close. In a weird twist, Bode calls Sam “Nate” after his late brother while Sarah named him Samuel at birth. The two had a bitter custody dispute over the boy that was settled when he was 18-months old, but they never have agreed on one name for the boy and call him by their own choices.
2. Bode is the most successful American alpine ski racer of all time.
He won World Cups in 2005 and 2008, in addition to four world championship titles. He won six Olympic medals in his career, including gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games in the super combined. At those Olympics he also won silver in the Super G and bronze in the downhill. He took bronze at the 2014 Sochi games in the Super G and retired from the sport for good in 2017.
3. Bode lost his beloved brother in 2013 due to a tragic seizure.
This isn’t the first time tragedy has struck close to Bode. His beloved younger brother Chelone Miller suddenly died in April of 2013 from an apparent seizure at just 29-years-old. The professional snowboarder was found dead in the van he was living in outside a friend’s home in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Nicknamed “Chilly,” he was looking forward to joining Bode at the 2014 Sochi Olympics as part of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team, but the dream never happened. Bode gave his son Nash the middle name of Skan as a tribute to his late brother, as it was his middle name as well.
4. Bode is an aspiring thoroughbred horse trainer.
After retiring from competitive skiing in 2017, Bode purchased his own barn at the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland. He owns several thoroughbred horses that others train, but he plans to get his own training license when his children are older.
5. Family means everything to Bode.
His Instagram is filled with pictures of his four children and he showers them with so much love. He took daughter Dace to her first father-daughter dance, showed off video of teaching Nate how to ride a bike and shared a cute pic of how the Easter Bunny brought Emmy a puppy. He even named her after his beloved grandmother Emeline, who is in her 90’s.