The widow of Columbus Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau honored her late brother-in-law, Matthew, Saturday night — days after the siblings were killed by an alleged drunk driver in New Jersey.
“John and Matty. You don’t hear one name without the other. Always side by side,” Meredith Gaudreau wrote on Instagram.
“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,” she wrote. “And Matty was always there. Absolute best friends and biggest fans of each other despite polar opposite personalities.
“Everyone wanted to be around them, including me. I would sit back and watch John genuinely love his time with his brother.”
The heartbroken sister-in-law went on to say she will look out for Matthew’s wife who is expecting her first child in December.
“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.”
The news of Matthew and his wife Madeline’s expected baby was revealed by Madeline’s sister in a heartbreaking GoFundMe post.
“I don’t think John could live a day without you so I’m comforted knowing you are of course together in heaven,” Meredith wrote. “Please continue to take care of John like you always have. I got Madeline and Trip. We love you very much”
Madeline Gaudreau responded to the five-photo slideshow saying, “I love this. Matty adored John just the same. I got you, Noa, and Johnny,” referencing the couple’s two young children.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother Matthew, 29, were killed while riding their bikes on County Road 51 in Oldmans Township, NJ on Thursday night.
The Gaudreaus were killed less than 24 hours before they were supposed to serve as groomsmen in the Friday afternoon wedding of their younger sister, Katie.
The suspected drunk driver, Sean Higgins, crashed into the brothers after 8 p.m., a day before their sister Katie’s wedding.
Higgins, 43, is a financial officer at the Gaudenzia Addiction Treatment and Recovery Centers, but has been placed on leave following his arrest, the company told The Post Saturday.
The US Army major and active New Jersey Army National Guardsman was arrested on two counts of vehicular homicide under suspicion of drunk driving and was ordered held behind bars until a Sept. 5 detention hearing.
Merideth’s tribute came a day after she mourned her husband’s death in a separate post, calling herself the “luckiest girl in the word.”
“Thank you for the best years of my life,” Meredith Gaudreau wrote on Instagram alongside a carousel of photos of her and Gaudreau over the years.
“Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours. I love you so so much,” she wrote.
In a follow-up post, Meredith called Johnny “the absolute best dad in the world,” and “the best partner to go through parenthood with.”
