The husband of a British woman who drowned while trying to rescue her two sons after they were swept away by powerful currents has revealed he ‘screamed with all my heart’ for a passing boat to rescue them.
Nathan Gregory has been left distraught after his childhood sweetheart, Leanne Gregory, 36, died on Tuesday while on a snorkelling expedition in the island of Bimini, in the Bahamas.
He added his wife, also 36, had died a ‘hero’, having swum against the waves to reach their youngest son and desperately held on to him until he was rescued but became too fatigued to save herself.
The couple, and their two sons, Scott and Leo, were only 48 hours into their holiday – and on the first day of a cruise around the islands to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary – when the tragedy occurred.
Mr Gregory, from Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, said the loss for the family had been ‘unimaginable’, adding the couple had known each other since primary school and had first started dating aged 14.
He has been left to raise his two sons alone without his wife’s income, and reluctantly set up a GoFundMe page to help provide for them after being urged to by friends and family.
Mr Gregory said the family had only just arrived at the beach when the boys got into difficulty.
Speaking for the first time about his ordeal, he said: ‘The boys hopped into a shallow point of water with their snorkel masks as they were super excited about just getting to the Bahamas.
Nathan Gregory has been left distraught after the death of his childhood sweetheart, Leanne, also 36, who drowned in the Bahamas
Nathan revealed his wife had died a ‘hero’, having swam against the waves to reach their youngest son and desperately held on to him until he was rescued
‘Leanne and I were still unpacking our towels and snorkels. When we turned around a minute later, they had been swept from the calm water they were paddling in towards treacherous water on a rip tide.
‘We saw they were struggling. I ran to Scott, and Leanne dived in to swim towards Leo. The water was almost impossible to move through.
‘Scott was around half the distance away that [his brother] was, but somehow Leanne still got to Leo first. I still don’t know how she swam that fast through water that I could barely move in.
‘She moved faster than I have ever seen, almost appearing at his side instantly.
‘People say mothers have special powers and I saw that in her.
‘I don’t know whether it was love, a mother’s power or divine intervention, but something happened that I have never seen before.
‘She reached Leo and kept him above water, even though she was being overwhelmed by the roughness of the sea.’
Mr Gregory said he reached his older son, Scott, and attempted to get him on his back but was dragged down by the force of the waves.
‘I thought to myself, if I don’t get help we are all going to die,’ he said. ‘Leanne couldn’t move with Leo and I couldn’t move with Scott.
‘So I had to make the hardest decision of my life and told Scott to stay floating on his back with his head above water while I got help. I knew he could do this.
‘I screamed with all my heart for a passing boat. It took a lot of screaming and people on the beach joined me, but eventually they noticed and started following my directions.’
The distressed father said his wife used her ‘last bit of strength’ to boost Leo towards the rescue boat.
‘But seconds after she got him aboard, a massive freak wave hit the side of the boat and sent it metres away from her, sweeping her under,’ he recalled. ‘She reappeared for a moment, but then completely disappeared from view.’
The couple had been enjoying a cruise ahead of their tenth wedding anniversary, which they would have marked in December
With the assistance of others, Mr Gregory was able to bring his wife out of the water and give her CPR, but she died shortly after being taken to hospital.
‘If it wasn’t for Leanne staying strong and holding my youngest boy, he would have died minutes before the boat finally arrived.
‘She died a total hero and she needs to be remembered as one. I just wish I was the strong swimmer, so it was me instead of her.’
Paying tribute to his wife, Mr Gregory described her as ‘the most amazing person who ever walked this earth’.
He added: ‘There are no words I can use to describe Leanne, same as anyone she ever knew.
‘In life she was our everything. She was a senior general manager at work and she was the same in our lives. The hardest worker, but she still had time for us and so many others around us.
‘As a mum she couldn’t have been better. Her kids loved her to bits. She was fair, balanced and generous, incredibly organised and seemed to have 48 hours in her day.
‘She always had time for her family, friends, colleagues and anyone who needed help.
‘She was the purest of people, the most generous, kind and beautiful person. She was my soulmate, my childhood sweetheart, my one and only.
‘Our relationship was perfect. She was the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the foundation of our entire family and the strength that held us all together.
‘We never fought. We had the world at our feet and so many plans for what we were going to do as we grew older.
‘She was the support system to our boys, and me. If you could describe the perfect family, it’s what we had – and anyone we know would agree with that.’
The loss of his wife, he added, had left ‘a hole that can never be filled’.
Mr Gregory said: ‘Between me and her there has never been a love more pure, never been two people more made for each other.
‘I will never get over this. Our lives will never be the same.
‘I will stay strong for my boys. I will raise them exactly as she wanted and make sure they succeed, as this is all she wanted. I’ve just got to be there for their every need.’
Mr Gregory’s mother Kim Jones has also paid tribute to her daughter-in-law.
She told The Telegraph: ‘She was the best mum in the world, just brilliant; a lovely woman who would do anything for anyone.
‘Leanne and Nathan have been together for more than 20 years. They were schoolkid sweethearts and I’ve always been very close to both of them.
‘It’s all such a shock. I cannot imagine how my son will be feeling.’
In a statement, posted on social media, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said: ‘According to the preliminary report, shortly after 10am, officers at the Alice Town police station received information that a female was unresponsive at the North Bimini Ferry Dock.
‘Officers responded and, upon arrival, learned that the woman had been transported to the local clinic for medical attention, where she was subsequently pronounced dead by a local doctor despite efforts to save her life.
‘Preliminary information indicates that the deceased was snorkelling with her husband and two sons near the southern point of the island when a strong current reportedly swept both children away.
‘In an attempt to rescue her sons, the woman was also swept away.
‘She was later rescued and transported to the ferry dock, where CPR was reportedly administered.
‘Foul play is not suspected at this time. An autopsy will be conducted to assist in determining the exact cause of death.’
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts are with the family of a British woman who has died in the Bahamas.
‘We are in contact with the local authorities and providing support to her family.’
