Young dad dies suddenly in bed weeks after fiancée gave birth to their second child

The fiancée of a man who was found dead in bed has paid a moving tribute to him, saying he put everyone before himself. Mother-of-two Chelsea Sterio, 24, said she found the father of her children, Rhyddion Williams, 27, dead in bed just weeks after she had given birth to their second child.

Chelsea said her fiancé had been dealing with depression and anxiety on and off for years and his mental state had worsened in the weeks following their daughter's birth. She claimed Rhyddion, from Port Talbot, also dealt with addiction problems as a result of his mental health issues and had been taking prescription medications. The mother-of-two said her fiancé was also diagnosed with ADHD and took medication for this condition.

Chelsea and Rhyddion had been a couple for four years and shared two daughters together. Their eldest daughter, Freya-Harper Williams, is three, and their youngest, Florrie-Mae Williams, is just nine weeks old.

"I gave birth eight weeks ago and his mental health was not good. He was calling the doctors and they were just prescribing him more tablets without seeing him. He struggled with depression and anxiety and he went downhill three years ago. But then he was fine compared to what he had been," said Chelsea. For the latest Neath Port Talbot news sign up to our newsletter here.

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But on November 2 Rhyddion was found dead and Chelsea said she is still trying to process what has happened. "I don't know whether I'm still in shock right now. I'm just trying to process it. I've got my daughter asking where her daddy is," said Chelsea. "Towards the end he was ringing his mental health service and was just getting prescribed more medication over the phone. They failed him. They should have clicked on that he had an addiction."

After his death Chelsea said she found a workbench in Rhyddion's shed outside. Written on the bench in permanent marker pen was the message "Mentally, I'm unwell." There will be an investigation into Rhyddion's death with an inquest planned for April 8, 2024.

A spokesman for Swansea Bay University Health Board said: “The health board would like to express its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Williams for their very sad loss. Although we have not received a formal complaint we are reviewing the circumstances in line with our usual procedure. We are also in contact with the coroner’s office. However, as the inquest into Mr Willilams’ death has now opened, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

Describing Rhyddion, Chelsea said: "When I first met him he was just a silly kind of person. He enjoyed hunting and liked his fishing and liked to play darts and pool. We were engaged within three months. He was usually such a bubbly person and he couldn't do enough for anyone. He was a carer for his mother. When our baby was born prematurely he looked after her so well and did all of the tube feeding training."

Following her fiancé's death Chelsea said she cannot face going back into their council home and she is waiting to be relocated. She said she feels like she's lost her home because he died there and her daughter will not go back into the house.

"I can't even go back there and get our stuff. Losing my home, I've had to start everything from fresh. I've lost near-enough everything in my house because I just can't go back there," she said. Chelsea's sister has set up a GoFundMe page to support the family.

Chelsea said she wants more men to speak out when they are not feeling okay. She said: "It's usually men who feel like they can't speak out. I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I've been through so I want to encourage more men to speak out. He was too ashamed just in case people thought differently of him and then it was too late to speak out in the end. But I want him to be remembered for the stuff he used to do. It was always everybody before him and he was so marvellous with my two girls."